Metro Life Score
Springfield, MA
Bottom-quartile composite Life Score — grade D, 7th percentile of the national corpus.
- 38.8
- Life Score / 100
- D
- Grade (curved)
- #361
- of 387 metros
- 7%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Springfield is bottom-quartile composite Life Score — #361 of 387 (38.8/100, grade D, 7th percentile). Carried by wages at 82/100; held back most by childcare at 1/100.
- 7th
- composite percentile
- #361
- of 387 peers
- 37th
- cost dimension percentile
- 82nd
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · BOTTOM · WAGE-LED · signature composite
Springfield: bottom-third composite — where the drag concentrates
Springfield sits in the bottom third of the metro corpus on composite (#361 of 387, 38.8/100, 7th percentile). Stamps BOTTOM · WAGE-LED; Childcare at 1/100 is the main drag; Wages (82/100) keeps the floor. Cost/wage marks DEAR/HIGH. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Springfield, MA ranks #361 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #244 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 96.1 (rent-RPP 75.8). BLS median salary $72,417, 191,450 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,734/mo (studio $1,219).
FBI UCR (MA): 309 violent, 1101 property/100K. NCES: 12.3:1 ratio, 4.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $20,571/yr. EPA: 41 Superfund sites (MA).
Where Springfield sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
39 7th percentile higher than 7% 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
Dimension detail
How Springfield scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are MA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Springfield With...
Ranking Context
Springfield outranks 7% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #358 | San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | 39.2 | D |
| #359 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | 39.3 | D |
| #360 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 39.3 | D |
| #361 | Springfield, MA | 38.8 | D |
| #362 | Elmira, NY | 38.8 | D |
| #363 | Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ | 38.7 | D |
| #364 | Clarksville, TN-KY | 38.5 | D |
MA Metro Scores
Read with Springfield
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Springfield (BOTTOM · WAGE-LED · DEAR/HIGH), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Elmira, NY
ABS(composite) peer at 38.8 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade D vs this page's BOTTOM · WAGE-LED · DEAR/HIGH.
Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ
ABS(composite) peer at 38.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade D vs this page's BOTTOM · WAGE-LED · DEAR/HIGH.
Clarksville, TN-KY
ABS(composite) peer at 38.5 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade D vs this page's BOTTOM · WAGE-LED · DEAR/HIGH.
Napa, CA
ABS(composite) peer at 38.4 (Δ 0.4 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade D vs this page's BOTTOM · WAGE-LED · DEAR/HIGH.
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 37/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
York-Hanover, PA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 37/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Springfield, MA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for BOTTOM · WAGE-LED · DEAR/HIGH - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.