PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Pittsburgh, PA

54.0
Life Score / 100
B
Grade (curved)
#143
of 387 metros
63%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Pittsburgh ranks #143 of 387 US metros, ahead of 63% - carried by its environment (70/100) and held back most by schools (17/100).

70
strongest: Environment
69
then: Safety
17
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Pittsburgh sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

54 63th percentile higher than 63% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 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 Pittsburgh Life Score

Pittsburgh's composite score of 54.0 out of 100, a grade of B, places the metro at rank #143 of 387, ahead of 63% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Environment (70/100) and Safety (69/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (17/100) and Cost of Living (45/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 94.7 (rent-RPP 72.0). BLS median salary $65,551, 1,098,020 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, General and Operations Managers, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,299/mo (studio $1,001).

FBI UCR (PA): 250 violent, 1457 property/100K. NCES: 13.6:1 ratio, 6.0% charter. EPA: 127 Superfund sites (PA). Ranks #140-#146 below.

Dimension detail

How Pittsburgh scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 45/100 (20%)
Wages 65/100 (20%)
Rent 50/100 (15%)
Safety 69/100 (15%)
Schools 17/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 70/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

94.7
Cost Index (RPP)
$65,551
Avg Median Salary
$1,299
2BR Fair Market Rent
250
Violent Crime/100K (PA)
13.6:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
127
Superfund Sites (PA)
1,098,020
Total Employment

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

Compare Pittsburgh With...

Pittsburgh vs Johnstown Compare → Pittsburgh vs Williamsport Compare → Pittsburgh vs York Compare → Pittsburgh vs Wildwood Compare → Pittsburgh vs Waterloo Compare → Pittsburgh vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Pittsburgh outranks 63% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#140 Jacksonville, NC 54.2 B
#141 Green Bay, WI 54.2 B
#142 Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ 54.3 B
#143 Pittsburgh, PA 54.0 B
#144 Bismarck, ND 54.0 B
#145 Lawrence, KS 54.0 B
#146 Macon-Bibb County, GA 54.0 B

PA Metro Scores

Johnstown, PA B+ 56.4 Williamsport, PA B 54.7 York-Hanover, PA B 52.7 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA B- 51.9 State College, PA B- 49.9 Erie, PA B- 48.9

Using Pittsburgh's Life Score

Pittsburgh 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 environment (70/100) and its weakest is schools (17/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Pittsburgh head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh's biggest strengths? ▼
Pittsburgh's strongest dimensions are Environment (70/100), Safety (69/100), Wages (65/100). Environment is top-tier nationally.
What are Pittsburgh's weakest areas? ▼
Pittsburgh's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (17/100), Cost of Living (45/100), Rent (50/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Pittsburgh compared to the national average? ▼
Pittsburgh's Regional Price Parity is 94.7 (5.3% less than national); rent RPP 72.0.
What is the average salary in Pittsburgh? ▼
Pittsburgh median salary: $65,551, 1,098,020 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, General and Operations Managers, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Pittsburgh's 54.0/100 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.