Metro Life Score
St. Cloud, MN
Top-1% composite Life Score — grade A+, 99th percentile of the national corpus.
- 65.9
- Life Score / 100
- A+
- Grade (curved)
- #5
- of 387 metros
- 99%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
St. Cloud is top-1% composite Life Score — #5 of 387 (65.9/100, grade A+, 99th percentile). Carried by cost of living at 90/100; held back most by environment at 22/100.
- 99th
- composite percentile
- #5
- of 387 peers
- 89th
- cost dimension percentile
- 83rd
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · COST-LED · signature composite
St. Cloud: top-third composite Life Score
St. Cloud clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#5 of 387, 65.9/100, grade A+, 99th percentile). Stamps TOP · COST-LED; cost FLOOR (89th) · wages HIGH (83rd). Cost of Living at 90/100 carries the lead; Environment (22/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, St. Cloud, MN ranks #5 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #41 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 87.6 (rent-RPP 65.1). BLS median salary $72,671, 96,960 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,206/mo (studio $874).
FBI UCR (MN): 259 violent, 1625 property/100K. NCES: 13.9:1 ratio, 11.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,722/yr. EPA: 49 Superfund sites (MN).
Where St. Cloud sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
66 Top 1% higher than 99% 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 65.9 is built
St. Cloud's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How St. Cloud scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are MN state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare St. Cloud With...
Ranking Context
St. Cloud outranks 99% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #2 | Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 66.0 | A+ |
| #3 | Wildwood-The Villages, FL | 67.0 | A+ |
| #4 | Pocatello, ID | 67.9 | A+ |
| #5 | St. Cloud, MN | 65.9 | A+ |
| #6 | Ames, IA | 65.6 | A+ |
| #7 | Charleston, WV | 65.3 | A+ |
| #8 | Lexington-Fayette, KY | 64.9 | A+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
St. Cloud, MN's quality rank (top 1% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 11% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
MN Metro Scores
Read with St. Cloud
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for St. Cloud (TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/HIGH), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH
ABS(composite) peer at 66.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/HIGH.
Ames, IA
ABS(composite) peer at 65.6 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/HIGH.
Charleston, WV
ABS(composite) peer at 65.3 (Δ 0.6 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/HIGH.
Lexington-Fayette, KY
ABS(composite) peer at 64.9 (Δ 1.0 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/HIGH.
Youngstown-Warren, OH (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 90/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Hattiesburg, MS (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 89/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
St. Cloud, MN relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/HIGH - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using St. Cloud's top-third Life Score
St. Cloud scores 65.9/100 overall, but Cost of Living (89.6) and Environment (21.5) sit 68.1 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Cost of Living is the strongest of St. Cloud'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
- Duluth is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Duluth
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.