Metro Life Score
Salem, OR
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C+, 40th percentile of the national corpus.
- 47.3
- Life Score / 100
- C+
- Grade (curved)
- #233
- of 387 metros
- 40%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Salem is below-median composite Life Score — #233 of 387 (47.3/100, grade C+, 40th percentile). Carried by wages at 85/100; held back most by cost of living at 10/100.
- 40th
- composite percentile
- #233
- of 387 peers
- 10th
- cost dimension percentile
- 85th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · RENT-SQUEEZE · signature cost
Salem: cost pressure is the outlier
Salem is a MID-band metro where cost sits only at the 10th percentile (CEILING) — the clearest outlier vs wages at the 85th and composite #233. Cost of Living (10/100) is the main drag; Wages (85/100) keeps the floor. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Salem, OR ranks #233 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #349 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 103.6 (rent-RPP 110.3). BLS median salary $73,178, 179,820 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,560/mo (studio $1,181).
FBI UCR (OR): 335 violent, 2410 property/100K. NCES: 17.2:1 ratio, 9.8% charter. DOL infant childcare $12,639/yr. EPA: 21 Superfund sites (OR).
Where Salem sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
47 40th percentile higher than 40% 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 47.3 is built
Salem's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Salem scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are OR state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Salem With...
Ranking Context
Salem outranks 40% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #230 | Odessa, TX | 47.4 | C+ |
| #231 | Columbus, IN | 47.4 | C+ |
| #232 | Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL | 47.5 | C+ |
| #233 | Salem, OR | 47.3 | C+ |
| #234 | South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI | 47.3 | C+ |
| #235 | Tucson, AZ | 47.3 | C+ |
| #236 | Carson City, NV | 47.2 | C+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Salem, OR is bottom 40% lowest-quality nationally but only bottom 10% least affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
OR Metro Scores
Read with Salem
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Salem (MID · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI
ABS(composite) peer at 47.3 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
Tucson, AZ
ABS(composite) peer at 47.3 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
Carson City, NV
ABS(composite) peer at 47.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
Columbus, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 47.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
Bend, OR (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 10/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 10/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Salem, OR relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Salem's middle-third Life Score
Salem scores 47.3/100 overall, but Wages (85.2) and Cost of Living (9.8) sit 75.4 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Wages is the strongest of Salem'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
- Cost of Living is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Grants Pass is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Grants Pass
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.