Metro Life Score
Rocky Mount, NC
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B, 69th percentile of the national corpus.
- 54.3
- Life Score / 100
- B
- Grade (curved)
- #120
- of 387 metros
- 69%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Rocky Mount is above-median composite Life Score — #120 of 387 (54.3/100, grade B, 69th percentile). Carried by cost of living at 87/100; held back most by wages at 15/100.
- 69th
- composite percentile
- #120
- of 387 peers
- 87th
- cost dimension percentile
- 15th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · COST-LED · signature cost
Rocky Mount: affordability leads the Life Score story
Rocky Mount is a UPPER-band metro whose cost dimension sits at the 87th percentile of 387 US metros (FLOOR) while composite is #120 (54.3/100, grade B). Cost of Living at 87/100 carries the upside; Wages at 15/100 is the residual drag. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Rocky Mount, NC ranks #120 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #52 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 88.0 (rent-RPP 56.1). BLS median salary $58,055, 47,780 jobs (Cashiers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,143/mo (studio $913).
FBI UCR (NC): 365 violent, 1930 property/100K. NCES: 16.1:1 ratio, 7.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $9,487/yr. EPA: 42 Superfund sites (NC).
Where Rocky Mount sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
54 69th percentile higher than 69% 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 54.3 is built
Rocky Mount's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Rocky Mount scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are NC state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Rocky Mount With...
Ranking Context
Rocky Mount outranks 69% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #117 | Morgantown, WV | 54.4 | B |
| #118 | Macon-Bibb County, GA | 54.5 | B |
| #119 | Sheboygan, WI | 54.7 | B |
| #120 | Rocky Mount, NC | 54.3 | B |
| #121 | Sandusky, OH | 54.3 | B |
| #122 | St. Joseph, MO-KS | 54.3 | B |
| #123 | Longview, TX | 54.2 | B |
Quality vs. Affordability
Rocky Mount, NC is top 31% highest-quality nationally and also top 13% most affordable -- a rarer combination among its composite-quality peers, where overall rank and affordability rank usually diverge more than this.
NC Metro Scores
Read with Rocky Mount
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Rocky Mount (UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Sandusky, OH
ABS(composite) peer at 54.3 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
St. Joseph, MO-KS
ABS(composite) peer at 54.3 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Longview, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 54.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Morgantown, WV
ABS(composite) peer at 54.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Jefferson City, MO (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 87/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Sumter, SC (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 87/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Rocky Mount, NC relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Rocky Mount's top-third Life Score
Rocky Mount scores 54.3/100 overall, but Cost of Living (86.8) and Wages (14.8) sit 72.0 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Cost of Living is the strongest of Rocky Mount's seven dimensions (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Wages is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Greenville is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Greenville
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.