PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Roanoke, VA

52.6
Life Score / 100
B
Grade (curved)
#161
of 387 metros
58%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Roanoke ranks #161 of 387 US metros, ahead of 58% - carried by its safety (80/100) and held back most by schools (24/100).

80
strongest: Safety
75
then: Environment
24
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Roanoke sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

53 58th percentile higher than 58% 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 Roanoke Life Score

Roanoke's composite score of 52.6 out of 100, a grade of B, places the metro at rank #161 of 387, ahead of 58% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (80/100) and Environment (75/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (24/100) and Wages (35/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 93.6 (rent-RPP 78.5). BLS median salary $64,974, 144,240 jobs (Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,254/mo (studio $1,004).

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 #158-#164 below.

Dimension detail

How Roanoke scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 49/100 (20%)
Wages 35/100 (20%)
Rent 57/100 (15%)
Safety 80/100 (15%)
Schools 24/100 (10%)
Childcare 53/100 (10%)
Environment 75/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

93.6
Cost Index (RPP)
$64,974
Avg Median Salary
$1,254
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)
144,240
Total Employment

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

Compare Roanoke With...

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

Ranking Context

Roanoke outranks 58% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#158 York-Hanover, PA 52.7 B
#159 Lubbock, TX 52.7 B
#160 Richmond, VA 52.8 B
#161 Roanoke, VA 52.6 B
#162 Columbia, SC 52.6 B
#163 Winchester, VA-WV 52.6 B
#164 Oklahoma City, OK 52.5 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 Richmond, VA B 52.8

Using Roanoke's Life Score

Roanoke 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 (80/100) and its weakest is schools (24/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Roanoke head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Roanoke 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 Roanoke's biggest strengths? ▼
Roanoke's strongest dimensions are Safety (80/100), Environment (75/100), Rent (57/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Roanoke's weakest areas? ▼
Roanoke's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (24/100), Wages (35/100), Cost of Living (49/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Roanoke compared to the national average? ▼
Roanoke's Regional Price Parity is 93.6 (6.4% less than national); rent RPP 78.5.
What is the average salary in Roanoke? ▼
Roanoke median salary: $64,974, 144,240 jobs. Top: Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Roanoke's 52.6/100 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.