Metro Life Score
Portland-South Portland, ME
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C+, 43rd percentile of the national corpus.
- 48.1
- Life Score / 100
- C+
- Grade (curved)
- #220
- of 387 metros
- 43%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Portland-South Portland is below-median composite Life Score — #220 of 387 (48.1/100, grade C+, 43rd percentile). Carried by safety at 99/100; held back most by schools at 1/100.
- 43rd
- composite percentile
- #220
- of 387 peers
- 15th
- cost dimension percentile
- 89th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · SAFE-LED · signature wages
Portland-South Portland: pay power is the signature
Portland-South Portland stamps MID · SAFE-LED with wages at the 89th percentile of the metro corpus (PEAK) — ahead of its cost mark (CEILING, 15th) and composite #220. Safety (99/100) amplifies the lead; Schools (1/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Portland-South Portland, ME ranks #220 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #330 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 101.9 (rent-RPP 105.2). BLS median salary $75,121, 273,870 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,833/mo (studio $1,264).
FBI UCR (ME): 102 violent, 1149 property/100K. NCES: 10.8:1 ratio, 2.3% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,325/yr. EPA: 16 Superfund sites (ME).
Where Portland-South Portland sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
48 43rd percentile higher than 43% 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 48.1 is built
Portland-South Portland's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Portland-South Portland scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are ME state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Portland-South Portland With...
Ranking Context
Portland-South Portland outranks 43% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #217 | Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL | 48.2 | C+ |
| #218 | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 48.2 | B- |
| #219 | Charlottesville, VA | 48.3 | B- |
| #220 | Portland-South Portland, ME | 48.1 | C+ |
| #221 | Jacksonville, NC | 48.1 | C+ |
| #222 | Niles, MI | 48.1 | C+ |
| #223 | Chambersburg, PA | 48.0 | C+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Portland-South Portland, ME is bottom 43% lowest-quality nationally but only bottom 15% least affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
ME Metro Scores
Read with Portland-South Portland
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Portland-South Portland (MID · SAFE-LED · CEILING/PEAK), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Jacksonville, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 48.1 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · CEILING/PEAK.
Niles, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 48.1 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · CEILING/PEAK.
Chambersburg, PA
ABS(composite) peer at 48.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · CEILING/PEAK.
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 48.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · CEILING/PEAK.
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 15/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's CEILING.
Albany, OR (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 15/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Portland-South Portland, ME relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · SAFE-LED · CEILING/PEAK - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Portland-South Portland's middle-third Life Score
Portland-South Portland scores 48.1/100 overall, but Safety (99.5) and Schools (0.5) sit 99.0 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Safety is the strongest of Portland-South Portland's seven dimensions (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Schools is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Bangor is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Bangor
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.