PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Victoria, TX

47.7
Life Score / 100
C+
Grade (curved)
#225
of 387 metros
42%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Victoria ranks #225 of 387 US metros, ahead of 42% - carried by its environment (93/100) and held back most by wages (10/100).

93
strongest: Environment
76
then: Cost of Living
10
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Victoria sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

48 42th percentile higher than 42% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 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 Victoria Life Score

Victoria's composite score of 47.7 out of 100, a grade of C+, places the metro at rank #225 of 387, ahead of 42% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Environment (93/100) and Cost of Living (76/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (10/100) and Safety (30/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 89.8 (rent-RPP 69.3). BLS median salary $57,319, 32,970 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,442/mo (studio $1,146).

FBI UCR (TX): 395 violent, 2058 property/100K. NCES: 14.7:1 ratio, 11.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,566/yr. EPA: 70 Superfund sites (TX). Ranks #222-#228 below.

Dimension detail

How Victoria scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 76/100 (20%)
Wages 10/100 (20%)
Rent 35/100 (15%)
Safety 30/100 (15%)
Schools 43/100 (10%)
Childcare 72/100 (10%)
Environment 93/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

89.8
Cost Index (RPP)
$57,319
Avg Median Salary
$1,442
2BR Fair Market Rent
395
Violent Crime/100K (TX)
14.7:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,566
Infant Childcare/yr (TX)
70
Superfund Sites (TX)
32,970
Total Employment

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

Compare Victoria With...

Victoria vs Texarkana Compare → Victoria vs Waco Compare → Victoria vs San Antonio Compare → Victoria vs Wildwood Compare → Victoria vs Waterloo Compare → Victoria vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Victoria outranks 42% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#222 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 47.9 C+
#223 Boise City, ID 47.9 C+
#224 St. George, UT 48.0 C+
#225 Victoria, TX 47.7 C+
#226 Port St. Lucie, FL 47.7 C+
#227 Salem, OR 47.6 C+
#228 Altoona, PA 47.5 C+

TX Metro Scores

Texarkana, TX-AR A- 60.7 Waco, TX B+ 58.2 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX B+ 57.6 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX B 55.0 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX B 54.9 Wichita Falls, TX B 53.9

Using Victoria's Life Score

Victoria 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 (93/100) and its weakest is wages (10/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Victoria head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Victoria 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 Victoria's biggest strengths? ▼
Victoria's strongest dimensions are Environment (93/100), Cost of Living (76/100), Childcare (72/100). Environment is top-tier nationally.
What are Victoria's weakest areas? ▼
Victoria's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (10/100), Safety (30/100), Rent (35/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Victoria compared to the national average? ▼
Victoria's Regional Price Parity is 89.8 (10.2% less than national); rent RPP 69.3.
What is the average salary in Victoria? ▼
Victoria median salary: $57,319, 32,970 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Victoria's 47.7/100 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.