PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA

71.5
Life Score / 100
A+
Grade (curved)
#2
of 387 metros
99%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Waterloo ranks #2 of 387 US metros, ahead of 99% - carried by its environment (95/100) and held back most by wages (45/100).

95
strongest: Environment
91
then: Cost of Living
45
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Waterloo sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

72 Top 1% higher than 99% 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%). Below this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Waterloo Life Score

Waterloo's composite score of 71.5 out of 100, a grade of A+, places the metro at rank #2 of 387, ahead of 99% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Environment (95/100) and Cost of Living (91/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (45/100) and Schools (46/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 87.1 (rent-RPP 63.1). BLS median salary $61,344, 77,420 jobs (Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,051/mo (studio $725).

FBI UCR (IA): 238 violent, 1286 property/100K. NCES: 14.8:1 ratio, 0.3% charter. DOL infant childcare $8,306/yr. EPA: 25 Superfund sites (IA). Ranks #1-#5 below.

Dimension detail

How Waterloo scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 91/100 (20%)
Wages 45/100 (20%)
Rent 88/100 (15%)
Safety 72/100 (15%)
Schools 46/100 (10%)
Childcare 64/100 (10%)
Environment 95/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

87.1
Cost Index (RPP)
$61,344
Avg Median Salary
$1,051
2BR Fair Market Rent
238
Violent Crime/100K (IA)
14.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$8,306
Infant Childcare/yr (IA)
25
Superfund Sites (IA)
77,420
Total Employment

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

Compare Waterloo With...

Waterloo vs Sioux City Compare → Waterloo vs Ames Compare → Waterloo vs Cedar Rapids Compare → Waterloo vs Wildwood Compare → Waterloo vs Paducah Compare → Waterloo vs Winston Compare →

Ranking Context

Waterloo outranks 99% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#1 Wildwood-The Villages, FL 71.6 A+
#2 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA 71.5 A+
#3 Paducah, KY-IL 70.0 A+
#4 Winston-Salem, NC 69.8 A+
#5 St. Cloud, MN 69.5 A+

IA Metro Scores

Sioux City, IA-NE-SD A+ 66.7 Ames, IA A 65.2 Cedar Rapids, IA A 64.2 Dubuque, IA A 63.5 Iowa City, IA A 62.2 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL A 61.7

Using Waterloo's Life Score

Waterloo 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 (95/100) and its weakest is wages (45/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Waterloo head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Waterloo 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 Waterloo's biggest strengths? ▼
Waterloo's strongest dimensions are Environment (95/100), Cost of Living (91/100), Rent (88/100). Environment is top-tier nationally.
What are Waterloo's weakest areas? ▼
Waterloo's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (45/100), Schools (46/100), Childcare (64/100).
How expensive is Waterloo compared to the national average? ▼
Waterloo's Regional Price Parity is 87.1 (12.9% less than national); rent RPP 63.1.
What is the average salary in Waterloo? ▼
Waterloo median salary: $61,344, 77,420 jobs. Top: Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Waterloo's 71.5/100 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.