Metro Life Score

Tucson, AZ

Compiled byPlainCompare Editorial, PlainCompare Editorial Team · Updated May 16, 2026

46.0
Life Score / 100: C+
Grade (curved): #257
of 387 metros: 34%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Tucson ranks #257 of 387 US metros, ahead of 34% - carried by its environment (91/100) and held back most by safety (21/100).

91
strongest: Environment: 67
then: Schools: 21
weakest: Safety: 7
weighted dimensions

Where Tucson sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

46 34th percentile higher than 34% 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 · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Tucson Life Score

Tucson's composite score of 46.0 out of 100, a grade of C+, places the metro at rank #257 of 387, ahead of 34% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Environment (91/100) and Schools (67/100), which pull the composite upward, while Safety (21/100) and Cost of Living (34/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 96.9 (rent-RPP 91.8). BLS median salary $66,393, 375,520 jobs (General and Operations Managers, Retail Salespersons, Home Health and Personal Care Aides). HUD 2BR FMR $1,402/mo (studio $967).

FBI UCR (AZ): 429 violent, 1786 property/100K. NCES: 17.0:1 ratio, 25.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,301/yr. EPA: 13 Superfund sites (AZ). Ranks #254-#260 below.

Dimension detail

How Tucson scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 34/100 (20%)

Wages 54/100 (20%)

Rent 38/100 (15%)

Safety 21/100 (15%)

Schools 67/100 (10%)

Childcare 38/100 (10%)

Environment 91/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

96.9

Cost Index (RPP)

$66,393

Avg Median Salary

$1,402

2BR Fair Market Rent

429

Violent Crime/100K (AZ)

17.0:1

Student-Teacher Ratio

$11,301

Infant Childcare/yr (AZ)

Superfund Sites (AZ)

375,520

Total Employment

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

Compare Tucson With...

Tucson vs Sierra Vista Compare → Tucson vs Yuma Compare → Tucson vs Phoenix Compare → Tucson vs Wildwood Compare → Tucson vs Waterloo Compare → Tucson vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Tucson outranks 34% of U.S. metros.

Rank	Metro	Score	Grade
#254	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	46.1	C+
#255	Salisbury, MD	46.1	C+
#256	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	46.4	C+
#257	Tucson, AZ	46.0	C+
#258	Kenosha, WI	46.0	C+
#259	Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT	46.0	C+
#260	Punta Gorda, FL	46.0	C+

AZ Metro Scores

Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ B 54.3 Yuma, AZ C+ 47.2 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ C- 40.5 Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ D 38.2 Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ D 38.0 Flagstaff, AZ D 34.5

Using Tucson's Life Score

Tucson 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 (91/100) and its weakest is safety (21/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
Put Tucson head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
See where Tucson 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 Tucson's biggest strengths? ▼

Tucson's strongest dimensions are Environment (91/100), Schools (67/100), Wages (54/100). Environment is top-tier nationally.

What are Tucson's weakest areas? ▼

Tucson's lowest-scoring dimensions are Safety (21/100), Cost of Living (34/100), Childcare (38/100). Safety weighs heavily on the composite.

How expensive is Tucson compared to the national average? ▼

Tucson's Regional Price Parity is 96.9 (3.1% less than national); rent RPP 91.8.

What is the average salary in Tucson? ▼

Tucson median salary: $66,393, 375,520 jobs. Top: General and Operations Managers, Retail Salespersons, Home Health and Personal Care Aides.

How is the life score calculated? ▼

Tucson's 46.0/100 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.

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

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.