PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Tallahassee, FL

54.9
Life Score / 100
B
Grade (curved)
#125
of 387 metros
68%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Tallahassee ranks #125 of 387 US metros, ahead of 68% - carried by its environment (89/100) and held back most by wages (21/100).

89
strongest: Environment
87
then: Schools
21
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Tallahassee sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

55 68th percentile higher than 68% 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%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Tallahassee Life Score

Tallahassee's composite score of 54.9 out of 100, a grade of B, places the metro at rank #125 of 387, ahead of 68% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Environment (89/100) and Schools (87/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (21/100) and Rent (44/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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, 17.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,505/yr. EPA: 81 Superfund sites (FL). Ranks #122-#128 below.

Dimension detail

How Tallahassee scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 47/100 (20%)
Wages 21/100 (20%)
Rent 44/100 (15%)
Safety 83/100 (15%)
Schools 87/100 (10%)
Childcare 46/100 (10%)
Environment 89/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

93.9
Cost Index (RPP)
$59,701
Avg Median Salary
$1,352
2BR Fair Market Rent
210
Violent Crime/100K (FL)
17.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$10,505
Infant Childcare/yr (FL)
81
Superfund Sites (FL)
174,000
Total Employment

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

Compare Tallahassee With...

Tallahassee vs Wildwood Compare → Tallahassee vs Jacksonville Compare → Tallahassee vs Sebring Compare → Tallahassee vs Waterloo Compare → Tallahassee vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Tallahassee outranks 68% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#122 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 55.0 B
#123 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA 55.0 B
#124 Tulsa, OK 55.1 B
#125 Tallahassee, FL 54.9 B
#126 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX 54.9 B
#127 Jackson, MS 54.8 B
#128 Sebring, FL 54.8 B

FL Metro Scores

Wildwood-The Villages, FL A+ 71.6 Jacksonville, FL B+ 59.0 Sebring, FL B 54.8 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL B 52.8 Homosassa Springs, FL B- 51.0 Naples-Marco Island, FL B- 49.8

Using Tallahassee's Life Score

Tallahassee 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 environment (89/100) and its weakest is wages (21/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Tallahassee head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Tallahassee 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 Tallahassee's biggest strengths? ▼
Tallahassee's strongest dimensions are Environment (89/100), Schools (87/100), Safety (83/100). Environment is top-tier nationally.
What are Tallahassee's weakest areas? ▼
Tallahassee's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (21/100), Rent (44/100), Childcare (46/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Tallahassee compared to the national average? ▼
Tallahassee's Regional Price Parity is 93.9 (6.1% less than national); rent RPP 78.5.
What is the average salary in Tallahassee? ▼
Tallahassee median salary: $59,701, 174,000 jobs. Top: Management Analysts, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Tallahassee's 54.9/100 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.