Metro Life Score
Sumter, SC
Bottom-quartile composite Life Score — grade C-, 10th percentile of the national corpus.
- 39.9
- Life Score / 100
- C-
- Grade (curved)
- #348
- of 387 metros
- 10%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Sumter is bottom-quartile composite Life Score — #348 of 387 (39.9/100, grade C-, 10th percentile). Carried by cost of living at 87/100; held back most by wages at 6/100.
- 10th
- composite percentile
- #348
- of 387 peers
- 86th
- cost dimension percentile
- 6th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · BOTTOM · COST-LED · signature wages
Sumter: wage lag defines the peer set
Sumter is a BOTTOM-band metro where wages sit at only the 6th percentile (LOW) while cost is FLOOR (86th) and composite #348. Wages at 6/100 is the clearest drag; Cost of Living (87/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Sumter, SC ranks #348 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #53 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 88.0 (rent-RPP 60.8). BLS median salary $56,027, 28,110 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Customer Service Representatives). HUD 2BR FMR $1,276/mo (studio $880).
FBI UCR (SC): 439 violent, 1988 property/100K. NCES: 13.8:1 ratio, 7.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,732/yr. EPA: 34 Superfund sites (SC).
Where Sumter sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
40 10th percentile higher than 10% 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 39.9 is built
Sumter's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Sumter scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are SC state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Sumter With...
Ranking Context
Sumter outranks 10% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #345 | Knoxville, TN | 40.0 | C- |
| #346 | Gettysburg, PA | 40.0 | C- |
| #347 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 40.0 | C- |
| #348 | Sumter, SC | 39.9 | C- |
| #349 | Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 39.9 | C- |
| #350 | Stockton-Lodi, CA | 39.9 | C- |
| #351 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 39.8 | D |
Quality vs. Affordability
Sumter, SC is bottom 10% lowest-quality nationally and also top 14% most affordable -- a rarer combination among its composite-quality peers, where overall rank and affordability rank usually diverge more than this.
SC Metro Scores
Read with Sumter
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Sumter (BOTTOM · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
ABS(composite) peer at 39.9 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C- vs this page's BOTTOM · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Stockton-Lodi, CA
ABS(composite) peer at 39.9 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C- vs this page's BOTTOM · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO
ABS(composite) peer at 40.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C- vs this page's BOTTOM · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Gettysburg, PA
ABS(composite) peer at 40.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C- vs this page's BOTTOM · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Cleveland, TN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 86/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Rocky Mount, NC (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 87/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Sumter, SC relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for BOTTOM · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Sumter's bottom-third Life Score
Sumter scores 39.9/100 overall, but Cost of Living (86.5) and Wages (6.0) sit 80.6 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Cost of Living is the strongest of Sumter'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
- 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
- Florence is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Florence
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.