Metro Life Score
St. George, UT
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C, 25th percentile of the national corpus.
- 44.2
- Life Score / 100
- C
- Grade (curved)
- #290
- of 387 metros
- 25%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
St. George is below-median composite Life Score — #290 of 387 (44.2/100, grade C, 25th percentile). Carried by schools at 94/100; held back most by wages at 18/100.
- 25th
- composite percentile
- #290
- of 387 peers
- 32nd
- cost dimension percentile
- 18th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · signature wages
St. George: wage lag defines the peer set
St. George is a LOWER-band metro where wages sit at only the 18th percentile (LOW) while cost is DEAR (32nd) and composite #290. Wages at 18/100 is the clearest drag; Schools (94/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, St. George, UT ranks #290 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #265 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 97.3 (rent-RPP 98.1). BLS median salary $58,910, 83,630 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Office Clerks, General). HUD 2BR FMR $1,575/mo (studio $1,210).
FBI UCR (UT): 229 violent, 1435 property/100K. NCES: 20.3:1 ratio, 13.1% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,828/yr. EPA: 24 Superfund sites (UT).
Where St. George sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
44 25th percentile higher than 25% 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 44.2 is built
St. George's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How St. George scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are UT state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare St. George With...
Ranking Context
St. George outranks 25% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #287 | Lebanon, PA | 44.4 | C |
| #288 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | 44.4 | C |
| #289 | Syracuse, NY | 44.6 | C |
| #290 | St. George, UT | 44.2 | C |
| #291 | Merced, CA | 44.0 | C |
| #292 | North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL | 44.0 | C |
| #293 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 43.9 | C |
Quality vs. Affordability
St. George, UT's quality rank (bottom 25% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 32% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
UT Metro Scores
Read with St. George
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for St. George (LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA
ABS(composite) peer at 44.4 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/LOW.
Lebanon, PA
ABS(composite) peer at 44.4 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/LOW.
Merced, CA
ABS(composite) peer at 44.0 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/LOW.
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 44.0 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/LOW.
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 31/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 32/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
St. George, UT relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using St. George's bottom-third Life Score
St. George scores 44.2/100 overall, but Schools (93.5) and Wages (18.1) sit 75.4 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Schools is the strongest of St. George'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
- Salt Lake City is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Salt Lake City
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.