Metro Life Score
Terre Haute, IN
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B, 67th percentile of the national corpus.
- 53.9
- Life Score / 100
- B
- Grade (curved)
- #127
- of 387 metros
- 67%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Terre Haute is above-median composite Life Score — #127 of 387 (53.9/100, grade B, 67th percentile). Carried by cost of living at 88/100; held back most by wages at 11/100.
- 67th
- composite percentile
- #127
- of 387 peers
- 88th
- cost dimension percentile
- 11th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · COST-LED · signature wages
Terre Haute: wage lag defines the peer set
Terre Haute is a UPPER-band metro where wages sit at only the 11th percentile (LOW) while cost is FLOOR (88th) and composite #127. Wages at 11/100 is the clearest drag; Cost of Living (88/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Terre Haute, IN ranks #127 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #48 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 87.8 (rent-RPP 51.9). BLS median salary $57,354, 57,960 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,094/mo (studio $859).
FBI UCR (IN): 308 violent, 1321 property/100K. NCES: 15.2:1 ratio, 6.5% charter. EPA: 53 Superfund sites (IN).
Where Terre Haute sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
54 67th percentile higher than 67% 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 53.9 is built
Terre Haute's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Terre Haute scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are IN state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Terre Haute With...
Ranking Context
Terre Haute outranks 67% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #124 | Evansville, IN | 54.0 | B |
| #125 | Auburn-Opelika, AL | 54.0 | B |
| #126 | Birmingham, AL | 54.1 | B |
| #127 | Terre Haute, IN | 53.9 | B |
| #128 | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 53.9 | B |
| #129 | Wichita Falls, TX | 53.8 | B |
| #130 | Huntsville, AL | 53.7 | B |
Quality vs. Affordability
Terre Haute, IN is top 33% highest-quality nationally and also top 12% most affordable -- a rarer combination among its composite-quality peers, where overall rank and affordability rank usually diverge more than this.
IN Metro Scores
Read with Terre Haute
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Terre Haute (UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC
ABS(composite) peer at 53.9 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Auburn-Opelika, AL
ABS(composite) peer at 54.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Evansville, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 54.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Wichita Falls, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 53.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Tuscaloosa, AL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 88/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Johnson City, TN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 88/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Terre Haute, IN relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Terre Haute's top-third Life Score
Terre Haute scores 53.9/100 overall, but Cost of Living (87.8) and Wages (10.6) sit 77.2 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Cost of Living is the strongest of Terre Haute'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
- Muncie is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Muncie
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.