Metro Life Score
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Bottom-quartile composite Life Score — grade F, 0th percentile of the national corpus.
- 26.2
- Life Score / 100
- F
- Grade (curved)
- #387
- of 387 metros
- 0%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is bottom-quartile composite Life Score — #387 of 387 (26.2/100, grade F, 0th percentile). Carried by wages at 99/100; held back most by childcare at 0/100.
- 0th
- composite percentile
- #387
- of 387 peers
- 4th
- cost dimension percentile
- 98th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · BOTTOM · WAGE-LED · signature composite
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria: bottom-third composite — where the drag concentrates
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria sits in the bottom third of the metro corpus on composite (#387 of 387, 26.2/100, 0th percentile). Stamps BOTTOM · WAGE-LED; Childcare at 0/100 is the main drag; Wages (99/100) keeps the floor. Cost/wage marks CEILING/PEAK. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ranks #387 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #373 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 108.9 (rent-RPP 151.1). BLS median salary $82,744, 3,082,600 jobs (General and Operations Managers, Business Operations Specialists, All Other, Software Developers). HUD 2BR FMR $2,246/mo (studio $1,953).
FBI UCR (DC): 1015 violent, 3726 property/100K. NCES: 11.0:1 ratio, 51.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $25,480/yr. EPA: 1 Superfund sites (DC).
Where Washington-Arlington-Alexandria sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
26 0th percentile higher than 0% 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 26.2 is built
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Washington-Arlington-Alexandria scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are DC state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Washington-Arlington-Alexandria With...
Ranking Context
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria outranks 0% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #384 | Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC | 30.0 | F |
| #385 | Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC | 32.8 | F |
| #386 | Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 33.0 | F |
| #387 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 26.2 | F |
Quality vs. Affordability
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV's quality rank (bottom 1% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 4% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
Read with Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Washington-Arlington-Alexandria (BOTTOM · WAGE-LED · CEILING/PEAK), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC
ABS(composite) peer at 30.0 (Δ 3.8 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade F vs this page's BOTTOM · WAGE-LED · CEILING/PEAK.
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC
ABS(composite) peer at 32.8 (Δ 6.6 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade F vs this page's BOTTOM · WAGE-LED · CEILING/PEAK.
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
ABS(composite) peer at 33.0 (Δ 6.8 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade F vs this page's BOTTOM · WAGE-LED · CEILING/PEAK.
Charleston-North Charleston, SC
ABS(composite) peer at 33.0 (Δ 6.8 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade F vs this page's BOTTOM · WAGE-LED · CEILING/PEAK.
Salinas, CA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 3/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 4/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for BOTTOM · WAGE-LED · CEILING/PEAK - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Washington-Arlington-Alexandria's bottom-third Life Score
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria scores 26.2/100 overall, but Wages (98.7) and Childcare (0.0) sit 98.7 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Wages is the strongest of Washington-Arlington-Alexandria's seven dimensions (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Childcare is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Paducah is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Paducah
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.