PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

44.2
Life Score / 100
C
Grade (curved)
#281
of 387 metros
27%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Seattle ranks #281 of 387 US metros, ahead of 27% - carried by its wages (99/100) and held back most by cost of living (2/100).

99
strongest: Wages
82
then: Environment
2
weakest: Cost of Living
7
weighted dimensions

Where Seattle sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

44 27th percentile higher than 27% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 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 Seattle Life Score

Seattle's composite score of 44.2 out of 100, a grade of C, places the metro at rank #281 of 387, ahead of 27% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (99/100) and Environment (82/100), which pull the composite upward, while Cost of Living (2/100) and Rent (4/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 111.1 (rent-RPP 151.3). BLS median salary $92,550, 2,057,860 jobs (Software Developers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $2,501/mo (studio $2,074).

FBI UCR (WA): 329 violent, 2498 property/100K. NCES: 17.6:1 ratio, 0.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $15,987/yr. EPA: 69 Superfund sites (WA). Ranks #278-#284 below.

Dimension detail

How Seattle scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 2/100 (20%)
Wages 99/100 (20%)
Rent 4/100 (15%)
Safety 46/100 (15%)
Schools 72/100 (10%)
Childcare 12/100 (10%)
Environment 82/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

111.1
Cost Index (RPP)
$92,550
Avg Median Salary
$2,501
2BR Fair Market Rent
329
Violent Crime/100K (WA)
17.6:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$15,987
Infant Childcare/yr (WA)
69
Superfund Sites (WA)
2,057,860
Total Employment

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

Compare Seattle With...

Seattle vs Lewiston Compare → Seattle vs Yakima Compare → Seattle vs Longview Compare → Seattle vs Wildwood Compare → Seattle vs Waterloo Compare → Seattle vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Seattle outranks 27% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#278 Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA 44.3 C
#279 San Angelo, TX 44.4 C
#280 Fort Smith, AR-OK 44.4 C
#281 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 44.2 C
#282 Lebanon, PA 44.2 C
#283 Ann Arbor, MI 44.0 C
#284 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 43.7 C

WA Metro Scores

Lewiston, ID-WA A- 60.4 Yakima, WA B 54.4 Longview-Kelso, WA B- 50.0 Walla Walla, WA B- 49.6 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA B- 49.4 Kennewick-Richland, WA B- 48.5

Using Seattle's Life Score

Seattle 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 (99/100) and its weakest is cost of living (2/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Seattle head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Seattle 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 Seattle's biggest strengths? ▼
Seattle's strongest dimensions are Wages (99/100), Environment (82/100), Schools (72/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Seattle's weakest areas? ▼
Seattle's lowest-scoring dimensions are Cost of Living (2/100), Rent (4/100), Childcare (12/100). Cost of Living weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Seattle compared to the national average? ▼
Seattle's Regional Price Parity is 111.1 (11.1% more than national); rent RPP 151.3.
What is the average salary in Seattle? ▼
Seattle median salary: $92,550, 2,057,860 jobs. Top: Software Developers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Seattle's 44.2/100 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.