PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Pittsfield, MA

45.0
Life Score / 100
C
Grade (curved)
#271
of 387 metros
30%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Pittsfield ranks #271 of 387 US metros, ahead of 30% - carried by its wages (87/100) and held back most by childcare (1/100).

87
strongest: Wages
71
then: Environment
1
weakest: Childcare
7
weighted dimensions

Where Pittsfield sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

45 30th percentile higher than 30% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 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 Pittsfield Life Score

Pittsfield's composite score of 45.0 out of 100, a grade of C, places the metro at rank #271 of 387, ahead of 30% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (87/100) and Environment (71/100), which pull the composite upward, while Childcare (1/100) and Schools (10/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 95.1 (rent-RPP 73.5). BLS median salary $73,362, 50,610 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,626/mo (studio $1,245).

FBI UCR (MA): 309 violent, 1101 property/100K. NCES: 12.3:1 ratio, 4.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $20,571/yr. EPA: 41 Superfund sites (MA). Ranks #268-#274 below.

Dimension detail

How Pittsfield scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 42/100 (20%)
Wages 87/100 (20%)
Rent 24/100 (15%)
Safety 49/100 (15%)
Schools 10/100 (10%)
Childcare 1/100 (10%)
Environment 71/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

95.1
Cost Index (RPP)
$73,362
Avg Median Salary
$1,626
2BR Fair Market Rent
309
Violent Crime/100K (MA)
12.3:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$20,571
Infant Childcare/yr (MA)
41
Superfund Sites (MA)
50,610
Total Employment

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

Compare Pittsfield With...

Pittsfield vs Providence Compare → Pittsfield vs Springfield Compare → Pittsfield vs Worcester Compare → Pittsfield vs Wildwood Compare → Pittsfield vs Waterloo Compare → Pittsfield vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Pittsfield outranks 30% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#268 Jonesboro, AR 45.1 C
#269 Visalia, CA 45.2 C
#270 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 45.4 C
#271 Pittsfield, MA 45.0 C
#272 Springfield, MA 44.8 C
#273 Athens-Clarke County, GA 44.6 C
#274 Charlottesville, VA 44.6 C

MA Metro Scores

Providence-Warwick, RI-MA B- 48.6 Springfield, MA C 44.8 Worcester, MA C 42.1 Barnstable Town, MA F 33.2 Amherst Town-Northampton, MA F 33.0 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH F 30.0

Using Pittsfield's Life Score

Pittsfield 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 wages (87/100) and its weakest is childcare (1/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Pittsfield head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Pittsfield 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 Pittsfield's biggest strengths? ▼
Pittsfield's strongest dimensions are Wages (87/100), Environment (71/100), Safety (49/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Pittsfield's weakest areas? ▼
Pittsfield's lowest-scoring dimensions are Childcare (1/100), Schools (10/100), Rent (24/100). Childcare weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Pittsfield compared to the national average? ▼
Pittsfield's Regional Price Parity is 95.1 (4.9% less than national); rent RPP 73.5.
What is the average salary in Pittsfield? ▼
Pittsfield median salary: $73,362, 50,610 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Pittsfield's 45.0/100 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.