Metro Life Score
Valdosta, GA
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B, 66th percentile of the national corpus.
- 53.7
- Life Score / 100
- B
- Grade (curved)
- #131
- of 387 metros
- 66%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Valdosta is above-median composite Life Score — #131 of 387 (53.7/100, grade B, 66th percentile). Carried by childcare at 94/100; held back most by wages at 2/100.
- 66th
- composite percentile
- #131
- of 387 peers
- 85th
- cost dimension percentile
- 2nd
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · BALANCED · signature wages
Valdosta: wage lag defines the peer set
Valdosta is a UPPER-band metro where wages sit at only the 2nd percentile (LOW) while cost is FLOOR (85th) and composite #131. Wages at 2/100 is the clearest drag; Childcare (94/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Valdosta, GA ranks #131 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #57 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 88.3 (rent-RPP 58.8). BLS median salary $53,912, 47,550 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,192/mo (studio $915).
FBI UCR (GA): 300 violent, 1567 property/100K. NCES: 13.8:1 ratio, 4.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $6,591/yr. EPA: 23 Superfund sites (GA).
Where Valdosta sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
54 66th percentile higher than 66% 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 53.7 is built
Valdosta's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Valdosta scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are GA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Valdosta With...
Ranking Context
Valdosta outranks 66% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #128 | Wichita Falls, TX | 53.8 | B |
| #129 | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 53.9 | B |
| #130 | Terre Haute, IN | 53.9 | B |
| #131 | Valdosta, GA | 53.7 | B |
| #132 | Huntsville, AL | 53.7 | B |
| #133 | Green Bay, WI | 53.4 | B |
| #134 | Killeen-Temple, TX | 53.4 | B |
Quality vs. Affordability
Valdosta, GA is top 34% highest-quality nationally and also top 15% most affordable -- a rarer combination among its composite-quality peers, where overall rank and affordability rank usually diverge more than this.
GA Metro Scores
Read with Valdosta
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Valdosta (UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Huntsville, AL
ABS(composite) peer at 53.7 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Wichita Falls, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 53.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Terre Haute, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 53.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC
ABS(composite) peer at 53.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Muncie, IN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 86/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Wheeling, WV-OH (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 85/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Valdosta, GA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Valdosta's middle-third Life Score
Valdosta scores 53.7/100 overall, but Childcare (94.4) and Wages (2.3) sit 92.1 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Childcare is the strongest of Valdosta'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
- 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
- Dalton is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Dalton
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.