PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Richmond, VA

52.8
Life Score / 100
B
Grade (curved)
#157
of 387 metros
59%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Richmond ranks #157 of 387 US metros, ahead of 59% - carried by its wages (81/100) and held back most by rent (23/100).

81
strongest: Wages
80
then: Safety
23
weakest: Rent
7
weighted dimensions

Where Richmond sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

53 59th percentile higher than 59% 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 Richmond Life Score

Richmond's composite score of 52.8 out of 100, a grade of B, places the metro at rank #157 of 387, ahead of 59% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (81/100) and Safety (80/100), which pull the composite upward, while Rent (23/100) and Schools (24/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 97.9 (rent-RPP 99.1). BLS median salary $71,318, 637,140 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,655/mo (studio $1,442).

FBI UCR (VA): 223 violent, 1590 property/100K. NCES: 13.9:1 ratio, 0.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,407/yr. EPA: 35 Superfund sites (VA). Ranks #154-#160 below.

Dimension detail

How Richmond scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 30/100 (20%)
Wages 81/100 (20%)
Rent 23/100 (15%)
Safety 80/100 (15%)
Schools 24/100 (10%)
Childcare 54/100 (10%)
Environment 75/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

97.9
Cost Index (RPP)
$71,318
Avg Median Salary
$1,655
2BR Fair Market Rent
223
Violent Crime/100K (VA)
13.9:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$10,407
Infant Childcare/yr (VA)
35
Superfund Sites (VA)
637,140
Total Employment

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

Compare Richmond With...

Richmond vs Lynchburg Compare → Richmond vs Staunton Compare → Richmond vs Virginia Beach Compare → Richmond vs Wildwood Compare → Richmond vs Waterloo Compare → Richmond vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Richmond outranks 59% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#154 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX 52.9 B
#155 Eau Claire, WI 52.9 B
#156 Baton Rouge, LA 53.2 B
#157 Richmond, VA 52.8 B
#158 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 52.8 B
#159 Lubbock, TX 52.7 B
#160 York-Hanover, PA 52.7 B

VA Metro Scores

Lynchburg, VA A- 59.3 Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA B+ 57.4 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC B+ 57.2 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA B 55.0 Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA B 53.9 Roanoke, VA B 52.6

Using Richmond's Life Score

Richmond 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 (81/100) and its weakest is rent (23/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Richmond head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Richmond 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 Richmond's biggest strengths? ▼
Richmond's strongest dimensions are Wages (81/100), Safety (80/100), Environment (75/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Richmond's weakest areas? ▼
Richmond's lowest-scoring dimensions are Rent (23/100), Schools (24/100), Cost of Living (30/100). Rent weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Richmond compared to the national average? ▼
Richmond's Regional Price Parity is 97.9 (2.1% less than national); rent RPP 99.1.
What is the average salary in Richmond? ▼
Richmond median salary: $71,318, 637,140 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Richmond's 52.8/100 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.