Metro Life Score
Tulsa, OK
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade B+, 76th percentile of the national corpus.
- 56.0
- Life Score / 100
- B+
- Grade (curved)
- #94
- of 387 metros
- 76%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Tulsa is top-quartile composite Life Score — #94 of 387 (56.0/100, grade B+, 76th percentile). Carried by environment at 98/100; held back most by safety at 25/100.
- 76th
- composite percentile
- #94
- of 387 peers
- 79th
- cost dimension percentile
- 33rd
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · signature cost
Tulsa: affordability leads the Life Score story
Tulsa is a UPPER-band metro whose cost dimension sits at the 79th percentile of 387 US metros (CHEAP) while composite is #94 (56.0/100, grade B+). Environment at 98/100 carries the upside; Safety at 25/100 is the residual drag. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Tulsa, OK ranks #94 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #81 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 89.2 (rent-RPP 68.2). BLS median salary $61,480, 445,680 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,217/mo (studio $933).
FBI UCR (OK): 428 violent, 2008 property/100K. NCES: 15.4:1 ratio, 3.5% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,666/yr. EPA: 18 Superfund sites (OK).
Where Tulsa sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
56 Top 24% higher than 76% 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 56.0 is built
Tulsa's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Tulsa scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are OK state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Tulsa With...
Ranking Context
Tulsa outranks 76% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #91 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 56.3 | B+ |
| #92 | Minot, ND | 56.4 | B+ |
| #93 | Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC | 56.6 | B+ |
| #94 | Tulsa, OK | 56.0 | B+ |
| #95 | Oshkosh-Neenah, WI | 56.0 | B+ |
| #96 | Amarillo, TX | 55.9 | B+ |
| #97 | Montgomery, AL | 55.9 | B+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Tulsa, OK's quality rank (top 24% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 21% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
OK Metro Scores
Read with Tulsa
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Tulsa (UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Oshkosh-Neenah, WI
ABS(composite) peer at 56.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Amarillo, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 55.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Montgomery, AL
ABS(composite) peer at 55.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Lubbock, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 55.8 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 79/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Rapid City, SD (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 80/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Tulsa, OK relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Tulsa's top-third Life Score
Tulsa scores 56.0/100 overall, but Environment (98.4) and Safety (24.9) sit 73.6 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Environment is the strongest of Tulsa's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Safety is the weakest (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Lawton is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Lawton
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.