PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Parkersburg-Vienna, WV

65.2
Life Score / 100
A
Grade (curved)
#15
of 387 metros
96%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Parkersburg ranks #15 of 387 US metros, ahead of 96% - carried by its safety (99/100) and held back most by wages (11/100).

99
strongest: Safety
98
then: Rent
11
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Parkersburg sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

65 Top 4% higher than 96% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Below this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Below this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). This entry sits in this band. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

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 · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Parkersburg Life Score

Parkersburg's composite score of 65.2 out of 100, a grade of A, places the metro at rank #15 of 387, ahead of 96% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (99/100) and Rent (98/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (11/100) and Schools (22/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 13.1:1 ratio, 0.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $8,974/yr. EPA: 14 Superfund sites (WV). Ranks #12-#18 below.

Dimension detail

How Parkersburg scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 91/100 (20%)
Wages 11/100 (20%)
Rent 98/100 (15%)
Safety 99/100 (15%)
Schools 22/100 (10%)
Childcare 62/100 (10%)
Environment 69/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

87.1
Cost Index (RPP)
$56,041
Avg Median Salary
$928
2BR Fair Market Rent
242
Violent Crime/100K (WV)
13.1:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$8,974
Infant Childcare/yr (WV)
14
Superfund Sites (WV)
30,150
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Parkersburg With...

Parkersburg vs Wheeling Compare → Parkersburg vs Weirton Compare → Parkersburg vs Charleston Compare → Parkersburg vs Wildwood Compare → Parkersburg vs Waterloo Compare → Parkersburg vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Parkersburg outranks 96% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#12 Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH 65.7 A
#13 Youngstown-Warren, OH 65.8 A
#14 Rocky Mount, NC 65.8 A+
#15 Parkersburg-Vienna, WV 65.2 A
#16 Ames, IA 65.2 A
#17 Spartanburg, SC 64.4 A
#18 Cedar Rapids, IA 64.2 A

WV Metro Scores

Wheeling, WV-OH A+ 68.2 Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH A 65.7 Charleston, WV A 61.9 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH A- 60.5 Morgantown, WV A- 59.5 Beckley, WV B+ 56.5

Using Parkersburg's Life Score

Parkersburg is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is safety (99/100) and its weakest is wages (11/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Parkersburg head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Parkersburg lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Parkersburg's biggest strengths? ▼
Parkersburg's strongest dimensions are Safety (99/100), Rent (98/100), Cost of Living (91/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Parkersburg's weakest areas? ▼
Parkersburg's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (11/100), Schools (22/100), Childcare (62/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Parkersburg compared to the national average? ▼
Parkersburg's Regional Price Parity is 87.1 (12.9% less than national); rent RPP 45.9.
What is the average salary in Parkersburg? ▼
Parkersburg median salary: $56,041, 30,150 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Cooks, Fast Food.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Parkersburg's 65.2/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.