PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX

57.6
Life Score / 100
B+
Grade (curved)
#88
of 387 metros
77%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

San Antonio ranks #88 of 387 US metros, ahead of 77% - carried by its rent (82/100) and held back most by safety (31/100).

82
strongest: Rent
79
then: Environment
31
weakest: Safety
7
weighted dimensions

Where San Antonio sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

58 Top 23% higher than 77% 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 San Antonio Life Score

San Antonio's composite score of 57.6 out of 100, a grade of B+, places the metro at rank #88 of 387, ahead of 77% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Rent (82/100) and Environment (79/100), which pull the composite upward, while Safety (31/100) and Schools (42/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 94.7 (rent-RPP 94.6). BLS median salary $68,933, 1,113,320 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Customer Service Representatives, Home Health and Personal Care Aides). HUD 2BR FMR $1,098/mo (studio $831).

FBI UCR (TX): 395 violent, 2058 property/100K. NCES: 14.7:1 ratio, 11.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,566/yr. EPA: 70 Superfund sites (TX). Ranks #85-#91 below.

Dimension detail

How San Antonio scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 45/100 (20%)
Wages 62/100 (20%)
Rent 82/100 (15%)
Safety 31/100 (15%)
Schools 42/100 (10%)
Childcare 73/100 (10%)
Environment 79/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

94.7
Cost Index (RPP)
$68,933
Avg Median Salary
$1,098
2BR Fair Market Rent
395
Violent Crime/100K (TX)
14.7:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,566
Infant Childcare/yr (TX)
70
Superfund Sites (TX)
1,113,320
Total Employment

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

Compare San Antonio With...

San Antonio vs Texarkana Compare → San Antonio vs Waco Compare → San Antonio vs McAllen Compare → San Antonio vs Wildwood Compare → San Antonio vs Waterloo Compare → San Antonio vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

San Antonio outranks 77% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#85 Valdosta, GA 57.7 B+
#86 Grand Island, NE 57.7 B+
#87 Springfield, IL 57.8 B+
#88 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 57.6 B+
#89 Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA 57.4 B+
#90 Fargo, ND-MN 57.2 B+
#91 Rapid City, SD 57.2 B+

TX Metro Scores

Texarkana, TX-AR A- 60.7 Waco, TX B+ 58.2 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX B 55.0 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX B 54.9 Wichita Falls, TX B 53.9 Eagle Pass, TX B 53.4

Using San Antonio's Life Score

San Antonio 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 rent (82/100) and its weakest is safety (31/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put San Antonio head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where San Antonio 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 San Antonio's biggest strengths? ▼
San Antonio's strongest dimensions are Rent (82/100), Environment (79/100), Childcare (73/100). Rent is top-tier nationally.
What are San Antonio's weakest areas? ▼
San Antonio's lowest-scoring dimensions are Safety (31/100), Schools (42/100), Cost of Living (45/100). Safety weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is San Antonio compared to the national average? ▼
San Antonio's Regional Price Parity is 94.7 (5.3% less than national); rent RPP 94.6.
What is the average salary in San Antonio? ▼
San Antonio median salary: $68,933, 1,113,320 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Customer Service Representatives, Home Health and Personal Care Aides.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
San Antonio's 57.6/100 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.