Metro Life Score
St. Louis, MO-IL
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B, 65th percentile of the national corpus.
- 53.1
- Life Score / 100
- B
- Grade (curved)
- #136
- of 387 metros
- 65%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
St. Louis is above-median composite Life Score — #136 of 387 (53.1/100, grade B, 65th percentile). Carried by rent at 98/100; held back most by schools at 13/100.
- 65th
- composite percentile
- #136
- of 387 peers
- 43rd
- cost dimension percentile
- 69th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · BALANCED · signature wages
St. Louis: pay power is the signature
St. Louis stamps UPPER · BALANCED with wages at the 69th percentile of the metro corpus (HIGH) — ahead of its cost mark (MID, 43rd) and composite #136. Rent (98/100) amplifies the lead; Schools (13/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, St. Louis, MO-IL ranks #136 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #222 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 95.1 (rent-RPP 79.0). BLS median salary $68,074, 1,311,920 jobs (General and Operations Managers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $916/mo (studio $632).
FBI UCR (MO): 463 violent, 1972 property/100K. NCES: 12.8:1 ratio, 3.5% charter. EPA: 39 Superfund sites (MO).
Where St. Louis sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
53 65th percentile higher than 65% 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 St. Louis scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are MO state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare St. Louis With...
Ranking Context
St. Louis outranks 65% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #133 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 53.2 | B |
| #134 | El Paso, TX | 53.3 | B |
| #135 | Killeen-Temple, TX | 53.4 | B |
| #136 | St. Louis, MO-IL | 53.1 | B |
| #137 | Binghamton, NY | 53.0 | B |
| #138 | Brunswick-St. Simons, GA | 53.0 | B |
| #139 | Homosassa Springs, FL | 53.0 | B |
MO Metro Scores
Read with St. Louis
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for St. Louis (UPPER · BALANCED · MID/HIGH), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Binghamton, NY
ABS(composite) peer at 53.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · MID/HIGH.
Brunswick-St. Simons, GA
ABS(composite) peer at 53.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · MID/HIGH.
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN
ABS(composite) peer at 53.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · MID/HIGH.
Homosassa Springs, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 53.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · MID/HIGH.
Bloomington, IN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 43/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Pittsfield, MA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 42/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
St. Louis, MO-IL relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · BALANCED · MID/HIGH - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.