Metro Life Score
Parkersburg-Vienna, WV
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade A-, 89th percentile of the national corpus.
- 60.8
- Life Score / 100
- A-
- Grade (curved)
- #44
- of 387 metros
- 89%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Parkersburg-Vienna is top-quartile composite Life Score — #44 of 387 (60.8/100, grade A-, 89th percentile). Carried by rent at 98/100; held back most by wages at 6/100.
- 89th
- composite percentile
- #44
- of 387 peers
- 91st
- cost dimension percentile
- 6th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · BALANCED · signature wages
Parkersburg-Vienna: wage lag defines the peer set
Parkersburg-Vienna is a TOP-band metro where wages sit at only the 6th percentile (LOW) while cost is FLOOR (91st) and composite #44. Wages at 6/100 is the clearest drag; Rent (98/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Parkersburg-Vienna, WV ranks #44 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #36 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 87.1 (rent-RPP 45.9). BLS median salary $56,041, 30,150 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Cooks, Fast Food). HUD 2BR FMR $928/mo (studio $741).
FBI UCR (WV): 242 violent, 1089 property/100K. NCES: 13.3:1 ratio, 0.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $8,974/yr. EPA: 14 Superfund sites (WV).
Where Parkersburg-Vienna sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
61 Top 11% higher than 89% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
How the 60.8 is built
Parkersburg-Vienna's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Parkersburg-Vienna scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are WV state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Parkersburg-Vienna With...
Ranking Context
Parkersburg-Vienna outranks 89% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #41 | Topeka, KS | 61.0 | A- |
| #42 | Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 61.0 | A- |
| #43 | Twin Falls, ID * | 61.1 | A- |
| #44 | Parkersburg-Vienna, WV | 60.8 | A- |
| #45 | Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 60.7 | A- |
| #46 | Decatur, IL | 60.7 | A- |
| #47 | Lake Charles, LA | 60.6 | A- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Parkersburg-Vienna, WV's quality rank (top 11% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 9% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
WV Metro Scores
Read with Parkersburg-Vienna
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Parkersburg-Vienna (TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL
ABS(composite) peer at 60.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Decatur, IL
ABS(composite) peer at 60.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Lake Charles, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 60.6 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD
ABS(composite) peer at 61.0 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 91/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Lafayette, LA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 91/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Parkersburg-Vienna, WV relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Parkersburg-Vienna's top-third Life Score
Parkersburg-Vienna scores 60.8/100 overall, but Rent (97.9) and Wages (6.2) sit 91.7 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Rent is the strongest of Parkersburg-Vienna's seven dimensions (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Wages is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Huntington is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Huntington
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.