Metro Life Score
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade A-, 89th percentile of the national corpus.
- 61.0
- Life Score / 100
- A-
- Grade (curved)
- #42
- of 387 metros
- 89%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Sioux City is top-quartile composite Life Score — #42 of 387 (61.0/100, grade A-, 89th percentile). Carried by cost of living at 93/100; held back most by environment at 14/100.
- 89th
- composite percentile
- #42
- of 387 peers
- 93rd
- cost dimension percentile
- 35th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · COST-LED · signature cost
Sioux City: affordability leads the Life Score story
Sioux City is a TOP-band metro whose cost dimension sits at the 93rd percentile of 387 US metros (FLOOR) while composite is #42 (61.0/100, grade A-). Cost of Living at 93/100 carries the upside; Environment at 14/100 is the residual drag. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Sioux City, IA-NE-SD ranks #42 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #29 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 86.5 (rent-RPP 57.8). BLS median salary $61,732, 69,160 jobs (Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,154/mo (studio $796).
FBI UCR (IA): 238 violent, 1286 property/100K. NCES: 14.1:1 ratio, 0.3% charter. DOL infant childcare $8,306/yr. EPA: 25 Superfund sites (IA).
Where Sioux City sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
61 Top 11% higher than 89% 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 61.0 is built
Sioux City's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Sioux City scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are IA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Sioux City With...
Ranking Context
Sioux City outranks 89% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #39 | Twin Falls, ID * | 61.1 | A- |
| #40 | Wheeling, WV-OH | 61.2 | A- |
| #41 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 61.2 | A- |
| #42 | Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 61.0 | A- |
| #43 | Topeka, KS | 61.0 | A- |
| #44 | Parkersburg-Vienna, WV | 60.8 | A- |
| #45 | Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 60.7 | A- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD's quality rank (top 11% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 7% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
IA Metro Scores
Read with Sioux City
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Sioux City (TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Topeka, KS
ABS(composite) peer at 61.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Twin Falls, ID *
ABS(composite) peer at 61.1 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Grand Forks, ND-MN
ABS(composite) peer at 61.2 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Gulfport-Biloxi, MS
ABS(composite) peer at 61.2 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 93/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Grand Island, NE (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 92/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Sioux City's top-third Life Score
Sioux City scores 61.0/100 overall, but Cost of Living (92.7) and Environment (14.2) sit 78.5 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Cost of Living is the strongest of Sioux City'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
- Environment is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Ames is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Ames
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.