Metro Life Score
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
Bottom-quartile composite Life Score — grade C, 24th percentile of the national corpus.
- 43.9
- Life Score / 100
- C
- Grade (curved)
- #293
- of 387 metros
- 24%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler is bottom-quartile composite Life Score — #293 of 387 (43.9/100, grade C, 24th percentile). Carried by wages at 87/100; held back most by cost of living at 11/100.
- 24th
- composite percentile
- #293
- of 387 peers
- 11th
- cost dimension percentile
- 86th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · signature cost
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler: cost pressure is the outlier
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler is a LOWER-band metro where cost sits only at the 11th percentile (CEILING) — the clearest outlier vs wages at the 86th and composite #293. Cost of Living (11/100) is the main drag; Wages (87/100) keeps the floor. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ ranks #293 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #344 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 103.3 (rent-RPP 121.2). BLS median salary $73,543, 2,342,930 jobs (General and Operations Managers, Retail Salespersons, Customer Service Representatives). HUD 2BR FMR $1,839/mo (studio $1,457).
FBI UCR (AZ): 429 violent, 1786 property/100K. NCES: 17.2:1 ratio, 25.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,301/yr. EPA: 13 Superfund sites (AZ).
Where Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
44 24th percentile higher than 24% 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 43.9 is built
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are AZ state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler With...
Ranking Context
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler outranks 24% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #290 | North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL | 44.0 | C |
| #291 | Merced, CA | 44.0 | C |
| #292 | St. George, UT | 44.2 | C |
| #293 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 43.9 | C |
| #294 | Salisbury, MD | 43.9 | C |
| #295 | Ann Arbor, MI | 43.8 | C |
| #296 | Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT | 43.8 | C |
Quality vs. Affordability
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ's quality rank (bottom 25% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 11% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
AZ Metro Scores
Read with Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler (LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Salisbury, MD
ABS(composite) peer at 43.9 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
Ann Arbor, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 43.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
Merced, CA
ABS(composite) peer at 44.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 44.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
Ithaca, NY (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 11/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Fairbanks-College, AK (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 11/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler's bottom-third Life Score
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler scores 43.9/100 overall, but Wages (86.5) and Cost of Living (11.1) sit 75.4 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Wages is the strongest of Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler's seven dimensions (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Cost of Living is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Sierra Vista is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Sierra Vista
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.