Metro Life Score
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B, 62nd percentile of the national corpus.
- 52.5
- Life Score / 100
- B
- Grade (curved)
- #147
- of 387 metros
- 62%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington is above-median composite Life Score — #147 of 387 (52.5/100, grade B, 62nd percentile). Carried by environment at 97/100; held back most by wages at 26/100.
- 62nd
- composite percentile
- #147
- of 387 peers
- 56th
- cost dimension percentile
- 26th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · ENVIRO-LED · signature wages
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington: wage lag defines the peer set
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington is a MID-band metro where wages sit at only the 26th percentile (LOW) while cost is MID (56th) and composite #147. Wages at 26/100 is the clearest drag; Environment (97/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA ranks #147 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #170 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 92.7 (rent-RPP 85.4). BLS median salary $60,497, 89,220 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,331/mo (studio $990).
FBI UCR (LA): 410 violent, 1773 property/100K. NCES: 13.6:1 ratio, 11.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,396/yr. EPA: 29 Superfund sites (LA).
Where Slidell-Mandeville-Covington sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
53 62nd percentile higher than 62% 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 52.5 is built
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Slidell-Mandeville-Covington scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are LA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Slidell-Mandeville-Covington With...
Ranking Context
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington outranks 62% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #144 | Joplin, MO-KS | 52.6 | B |
| #145 | Appleton, WI | 52.6 | B |
| #146 | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL | 52.7 | B |
| #147 | Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA | 52.5 | B |
| #148 | Fayetteville, NC | 52.5 | B |
| #149 | Altoona, PA | 52.4 | B |
| #150 | Farmington, NM | 52.4 | B |
Quality vs. Affordability
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA's quality rank (top 38% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 44% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
LA Metro Scores
Read with Slidell-Mandeville-Covington
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Slidell-Mandeville-Covington (MID · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Fayetteville, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 52.5 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW.
Altoona, PA
ABS(composite) peer at 52.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW.
Appleton, WI
ABS(composite) peer at 52.6 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW.
Farmington, NM
ABS(composite) peer at 52.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW.
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 56/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Springfield, IL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 56/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Slidell-Mandeville-Covington's middle-third Life Score
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington scores 52.5/100 overall, but Environment (97.4) and Wages (25.9) sit 71.5 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Environment is the strongest of Slidell-Mandeville-Covington's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Wages is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Monroe is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Monroe
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.