Metro Life Score
Peoria, IL
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade A-, 85th percentile of the national corpus.
- 59.5
- Life Score / 100
- A-
- Grade (curved)
- #57
- of 387 metros
- 85%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Peoria is top-quartile composite Life Score — #57 of 387 (59.5/100, grade A-, 85th percentile). Carried by rent at 90/100; held back most by childcare at 27/100.
- 85th
- composite percentile
- #57
- of 387 peers
- 68th
- cost dimension percentile
- 66th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · BALANCED · signature composite
Peoria: top-third composite Life Score
Peoria clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#57 of 387, 59.5/100, grade A-, 85th percentile). Stamps UPPER · BALANCED; cost CHEAP (68th) · wages HIGH (66th). Rent at 90/100 carries the lead; Childcare (27/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Peoria, IL ranks #57 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #125 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 91.2 (rent-RPP 63.8). BLS median salary $67,453, 158,390 jobs (Registered Nurses, General and Operations Managers, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,039/mo (studio $758).
FBI UCR (IL): 277 violent, 1665 property/100K. NCES: 14.0:1 ratio, 3.5% charter. DOL infant childcare $12,257/yr. EPA: 56 Superfund sites (IL).
Where Peoria sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
60 Top 15% higher than 85% 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
Dimension detail
How Peoria scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are IL state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Peoria With...
Ranking Context
Peoria outranks 85% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #54 | Winston-Salem, NC | 59.6 | A- |
| #55 | Rochester, MN | 59.8 | A- |
| #56 | Mobile, AL | 59.8 | A- |
| #57 | Peoria, IL | 59.5 | A- |
| #58 | Boise City, ID | 59.2 | A- |
| #59 | Albany, GA | 59.1 | A- |
| #60 | Brownsville-Harlingen, TX | 58.9 | A- |
IL Metro Scores
Read with Peoria
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Peoria (UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/HIGH), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Winston-Salem, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 59.6 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/HIGH.
Boise City, ID
ABS(composite) peer at 59.2 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/HIGH.
Mobile, AL
ABS(composite) peer at 59.8 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/HIGH.
Rochester, MN
ABS(composite) peer at 59.8 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/HIGH.
Lewiston, ID-WA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 68/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Lubbock, TX (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 68/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Peoria, IL relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/HIGH - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.