PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Sioux City, IA-NE-SD

66.7
Life Score / 100
A+
Grade (curved)
#7
of 387 metros
98%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Sioux City ranks #7 of 387 US metros, ahead of 98% - carried by its cost of living (93/100) and held back most by wages (36/100).

93
strongest: Cost of Living
84
then: Environment
36
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Sioux City sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

67 Top 2% higher than 98% 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%). Below this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Below this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Sioux City Life Score

Sioux City's composite score of 66.7 out of 100, a grade of A+, places the metro at rank #7 of 387, ahead of 98% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (93/100) and Environment (84/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (36/100) and Schools (45/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 14.8:1 ratio, 0.3% charter. DOL infant childcare $8,306/yr. EPA: 25 Superfund sites (IA). Ranks #4-#10 below.

Dimension detail

How Sioux City scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 93/100 (20%)
Wages 36/100 (20%)
Rent 72/100 (15%)
Safety 72/100 (15%)
Schools 45/100 (10%)
Childcare 64/100 (10%)
Environment 84/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

86.5
Cost Index (RPP)
$61,732
Avg Median Salary
$1,154
2BR Fair Market Rent
238
Violent Crime/100K (IA)
14.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$8,306
Infant Childcare/yr (IA)
25
Superfund Sites (IA)
69,160
Total Employment

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

Compare Sioux City With...

Sioux City vs Waterloo Compare → Sioux City vs Ames Compare → Sioux City vs Cedar Rapids Compare → Sioux City vs Wildwood Compare → Sioux City vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Sioux City outranks 98% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#4 Wheeling, WV-OH 68.2 A+
#5 St. Cloud, MN 69.5 A+
#6 Winston-Salem, NC 69.8 A+
#7 Sioux City, IA-NE-SD 66.7 A+
#8 Greenville, NC 66.6 A+
#9 Toledo, OH 66.3 A+
#10 Tuscaloosa, AL 66.3 A+

IA Metro Scores

Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA A+ 71.5 Ames, IA A 65.2 Cedar Rapids, IA A 64.2 Dubuque, IA A 63.5 Iowa City, IA A 62.2 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL A 61.7

Using Sioux City's Life Score

Sioux City 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 cost of living (93/100) and its weakest is wages (36/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Sioux City head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Sioux City 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 Sioux City's biggest strengths? ▼
Sioux City's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (93/100), Environment (84/100), Rent (72/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Sioux City's weakest areas? ▼
Sioux City's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (36/100), Schools (45/100), Childcare (64/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Sioux City compared to the national average? ▼
Sioux City's Regional Price Parity is 86.5 (13.5% less than national); rent RPP 57.8.
What is the average salary in Sioux City? ▼
Sioux City median salary: $61,732, 69,160 jobs. Top: Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Sioux City's 66.7/100 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.