PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Raleigh-Cary, NC

56.5
Life Score / 100
B+
Grade (curved)
#103
of 387 metros
73%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Raleigh ranks #103 of 387 US metros, ahead of 73% - carried by its safety (93/100) and held back most by rent (17/100).

93
strongest: Safety
75
then: Wages
17
weakest: Rent
7
weighted dimensions

Where Raleigh sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

57 73th percentile higher than 73% 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%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Raleigh Life Score

Raleigh's composite score of 56.5 out of 100, a grade of B+, places the metro at rank #103 of 387, ahead of 73% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (93/100) and Wages (75/100), which pull the composite upward, while Rent (17/100) and Cost of Living (28/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 98.2 (rent-RPP 103.5). BLS median salary $68,693, 725,130 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,750/mo (studio $1,524).

FBI UCR (NC): 365 violent, 1930 property/100K. NCES: 15.8:1 ratio, 7.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $9,487/yr. EPA: 42 Superfund sites (NC). Ranks #100-#106 below.

Dimension detail

How Raleigh scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 28/100 (20%)
Wages 75/100 (20%)
Rent 17/100 (15%)
Safety 93/100 (15%)
Schools 61/100 (10%)
Childcare 58/100 (10%)
Environment 74/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

98.2
Cost Index (RPP)
$68,693
Avg Median Salary
$1,750
2BR Fair Market Rent
365
Violent Crime/100K (NC)
15.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$9,487
Infant Childcare/yr (NC)
42
Superfund Sites (NC)
725,130
Total Employment

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

Compare Raleigh With...

Raleigh vs Winston Compare → Raleigh vs Greenville Compare → Raleigh vs Rocky Mount Compare → Raleigh vs Wildwood Compare → Raleigh vs Waterloo Compare → Raleigh vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Raleigh outranks 73% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#100 Lake Charles, LA 56.7 B+
#101 Anniston-Oxford, AL 56.7 B+
#102 Madison, WI 56.9 B+
#103 Raleigh-Cary, NC 56.5 B+
#104 Beckley, WV 56.5 B+
#105 Niles, MI 56.5 B+
#106 Alexandria, LA 56.4 B+

NC Metro Scores

Winston-Salem, NC A+ 69.8 Greenville, NC A+ 66.6 Rocky Mount, NC A+ 65.8 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC A 63.4 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC A- 59.2 Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC B+ 58.6

Using Raleigh's Life Score

Raleigh 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 safety (93/100) and its weakest is rent (17/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Raleigh head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Raleigh 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 Raleigh's biggest strengths? ▼
Raleigh's strongest dimensions are Safety (93/100), Wages (75/100), Environment (74/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Raleigh's weakest areas? ▼
Raleigh's lowest-scoring dimensions are Rent (17/100), Cost of Living (28/100), Childcare (58/100). Rent weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Raleigh compared to the national average? ▼
Raleigh's Regional Price Parity is 98.2 (1.8% less than national); rent RPP 103.5.
What is the average salary in Raleigh? ▼
Raleigh median salary: $68,693, 725,130 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Cashiers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Raleigh's 56.5/100 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.