PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Tuscaloosa, AL

66.3
Life Score / 100
A+
Grade (curved)
#10
of 387 metros
97%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Tuscaloosa ranks #10 of 387 US metros, ahead of 97% - carried by its environment (91/100) and held back most by wages (31/100).

91
strongest: Environment
90
then: Childcare
31
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Tuscaloosa sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

66 Top 3% higher than 97% 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%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Below this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Below this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Tuscaloosa Life Score

Tuscaloosa's composite score of 66.3 out of 100, a grade of A+, places the metro at rank #10 of 387, ahead of 97% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Environment (91/100) and Childcare (90/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (31/100) and Safety (39/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 87.7 (rent-RPP 58.2). BLS median salary $58,026, 96,660 jobs (Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,140/mo (studio $863).

FBI UCR (AL): 376 violent, 1622 property/100K. NCES: 17.7:1 ratio, 1.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $6,896/yr. EPA: 16 Superfund sites (AL). Ranks #7-#13 below.

Dimension detail

How Tuscaloosa scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 88/100 (20%)
Wages 31/100 (20%)
Rent 75/100 (15%)
Safety 39/100 (15%)
Schools 73/100 (10%)
Childcare 90/100 (10%)
Environment 91/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

87.7
Cost Index (RPP)
$58,026
Avg Median Salary
$1,140
2BR Fair Market Rent
376
Violent Crime/100K (AL)
17.7:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$6,896
Infant Childcare/yr (AL)
16
Superfund Sites (AL)
96,660
Total Employment

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

Compare Tuscaloosa With...

Tuscaloosa vs Mobile Compare → Tuscaloosa vs Decatur Compare → Tuscaloosa vs Montgomery Compare → Tuscaloosa vs Wildwood Compare → Tuscaloosa vs Waterloo Compare → Tuscaloosa vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Tuscaloosa outranks 97% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#7 Greenville, NC 66.6 A+
#8 Sioux City, IA-NE-SD 66.7 A+
#9 Wheeling, WV-OH 68.2 A+
#10 Tuscaloosa, AL 66.3 A+
#11 Toledo, OH 66.3 A+
#12 Rocky Mount, NC 65.8 A+
#13 Youngstown-Warren, OH 65.8 A

AL Metro Scores

Mobile, AL A 62.3 Decatur, AL A 61.9 Montgomery, AL A- 60.5 Gadsden, AL A- 59.6 Dothan, AL A- 59.5 Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL A- 59.5

Using Tuscaloosa's Life Score

Tuscaloosa 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 wages (31/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Tuscaloosa head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa's biggest strengths? ▼
Tuscaloosa's strongest dimensions are Environment (91/100), Childcare (90/100), Cost of Living (88/100). Environment is top-tier nationally.
What are Tuscaloosa's weakest areas? ▼
Tuscaloosa's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (31/100), Safety (39/100), Schools (73/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Tuscaloosa compared to the national average? ▼
Tuscaloosa's Regional Price Parity is 87.7 (12.3% less than national); rent RPP 58.2.
What is the average salary in Tuscaloosa? ▼
Tuscaloosa median salary: $58,026, 96,660 jobs. Top: Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Tuscaloosa's 66.3/100 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.