Metro Life Score
Tallahassee, FL
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B, 57th percentile of the national corpus.
- 51.6
- Life Score / 100
- B
- Grade (curved)
- #166
- of 387 metros
- 57%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Tallahassee is above-median composite Life Score — #166 of 387 (51.6/100, grade B, 57th percentile). Carried by safety at 91/100; held back most by wages at 23/100.
- 57th
- composite percentile
- #166
- of 387 peers
- 47th
- cost dimension percentile
- 23rd
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · SAFE-LED · signature wages
Tallahassee: wage lag defines the peer set
Tallahassee is a MID-band metro where wages sit at only the 23rd percentile (LOW) while cost is MID (47th) and composite #166. Wages at 23/100 is the clearest drag; Safety (91/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Tallahassee, FL ranks #166 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #204 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 93.9 (rent-RPP 78.5). BLS median salary $59,701, 174,000 jobs (Management Analysts, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,352/mo (studio $1,097).
FBI UCR (FL): 210 violent, 1030 property/100K. NCES: 17.8:1 ratio, 18.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,505/yr. EPA: 81 Superfund sites (FL).
Where Tallahassee sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
52 57th percentile higher than 57% 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 51.6 is built
Tallahassee's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Tallahassee scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are FL state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Tallahassee With...
Ranking Context
Tallahassee outranks 57% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #163 | Yakima, WA | 51.7 | B |
| #164 | Flint, MI | 51.7 | B |
| #165 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | 51.7 | B |
| #166 | Tallahassee, FL | 51.6 | B |
| #167 | Columbus, OH | 51.6 | B |
| #168 | Erie, PA | 51.6 | B |
| #169 | Sebring, FL | 51.6 | B |
Quality vs. Affordability
Tallahassee, FL's quality rank (top 43% highest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 48% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
FL Metro Scores
Read with Tallahassee
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Tallahassee (MID · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Columbus, OH
ABS(composite) peer at 51.6 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW.
Erie, PA
ABS(composite) peer at 51.6 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW.
Sebring, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 51.6 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW.
Burlington-South Burlington, VT
ABS(composite) peer at 51.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW.
Cleveland, OH (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 47/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Odessa, TX (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 48/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Tallahassee, FL relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Tallahassee's middle-third Life Score
Tallahassee scores 51.6/100 overall, but Safety (91.2) and Wages (23.1) sit 68.1 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Safety is the strongest of Tallahassee's seven dimensions (weighted 15% 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
- Wildwood is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Wildwood
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.