Metro Life Score
Tuscaloosa, AL
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B+, 73rd percentile of the national corpus.
- 55.5
- Life Score / 100
- B+
- Grade (curved)
- #104
- of 387 metros
- 73%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Tuscaloosa is above-median composite Life Score — #104 of 387 (55.5/100, grade B+, 73rd percentile). Carried by childcare at 90/100; held back most by environment at 3/100.
- 73rd
- composite percentile
- #104
- of 387 peers
- 88th
- cost dimension percentile
- 14th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · BALANCED · signature cost
Tuscaloosa: affordability leads the Life Score story
Tuscaloosa is a UPPER-band metro whose cost dimension sits at the 88th percentile of 387 US metros (FLOOR) while composite is #104 (55.5/100, grade B+). Childcare at 90/100 carries the upside; Environment at 3/100 is the residual drag. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Tuscaloosa, AL ranks #104 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #47 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
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: 17.2:1 ratio, 1.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $6,896/yr. EPA: 16 Superfund sites (AL).
Where Tuscaloosa sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
56 73rd percentile higher than 73% 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 55.5 is built
Tuscaloosa's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Tuscaloosa scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are AL state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Tuscaloosa With...
Ranking Context
Tuscaloosa outranks 73% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #101 | Wichita, KS | 55.6 | B+ |
| #102 | Lima, OH | 55.6 | B+ |
| #103 | Muncie, IN | 55.7 | B+ |
| #104 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 55.5 | B+ |
| #105 | Battle Creek, MI | 55.5 | B+ |
| #106 | Canton-Massillon, OH | 55.5 | B+ |
| #107 | Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH | 55.5 | B+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Tuscaloosa, AL's quality rank (top 27% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 12% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
AL Metro Scores
Read with Tuscaloosa
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Tuscaloosa (UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Battle Creek, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 55.5 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Canton-Massillon, OH
ABS(composite) peer at 55.5 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH
ABS(composite) peer at 55.5 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN
ABS(composite) peer at 55.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Brunswick-St. Simons, GA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 88/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Terre Haute, IN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 88/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Tuscaloosa, AL relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Tuscaloosa's top-third Life Score
Tuscaloosa scores 55.5/100 overall, but Childcare (90.0) and Environment (2.8) sit 87.2 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Childcare is the strongest of Tuscaloosa'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
- Environment is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Decatur is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Decatur
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.