PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

St. George, UT

48.0
Life Score / 100
C+
Grade (curved)
#221
of 387 metros
43%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

St. George ranks #221 of 387 US metros, ahead of 43% - carried by its schools (100/100) and held back most by wages (24/100).

100
strongest: Schools
87
then: Environment
24
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where St. George sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

48 43th percentile higher than 43% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 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 St. George Life Score

St. George's composite score of 48.0 out of 100, a grade of C+, places the metro at rank #221 of 387, ahead of 43% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Schools (100/100) and Environment (87/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (24/100) and Rent (26/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 21.4:1 ratio, 13.1% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,828/yr. EPA: 24 Superfund sites (UT). Ranks #218-#224 below.

Dimension detail

How St. George scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 32/100 (20%)
Wages 24/100 (20%)
Rent 26/100 (15%)
Safety 76/100 (15%)
Schools 100/100 (10%)
Childcare 29/100 (10%)
Environment 87/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

97.3
Cost Index (RPP)
$58,910
Avg Median Salary
$1,575
2BR Fair Market Rent
229
Violent Crime/100K (UT)
21.4:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$11,828
Infant Childcare/yr (UT)
24
Superfund Sites (UT)
83,630
Total Employment

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

Compare St. George With...

St. George vs Salt Lake City Compare → St. George vs Logan Compare → St. George vs Provo Compare → St. George vs Wildwood Compare → St. George vs Waterloo Compare → St. George vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

St. George outranks 43% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#218 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA 48.1 C+
#219 Las Cruces, NM 48.1 C+
#220 Midland, TX 48.5 C+
#221 St. George, UT 48.0 C+
#222 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 48.0 C+
#223 Boise City, ID 47.9 C+
#224 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 47.9 C+

UT Metro Scores

Salt Lake City-Murray, UT B 53.8 Logan, UT-ID B- 50.7 Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT B- 49.2 Ogden, UT B- 48.7

Using St. George's Life Score

St. George 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 schools (100/100) and its weakest is wages (24/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put St. George head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where St. George 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 St. George's biggest strengths? ▼
St. George's strongest dimensions are Schools (100/100), Environment (87/100), Safety (76/100). Schools is top-tier nationally.
What are St. George's weakest areas? ▼
St. George's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (24/100), Rent (26/100), Childcare (29/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is St. George compared to the national average? ▼
St. George's Regional Price Parity is 97.3 (2.7% less than national); rent RPP 98.1.
What is the average salary in St. George? ▼
St. George median salary: $58,910, 83,630 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Office Clerks, General.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
St. George's 48.0/100 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.