Metro Life Score
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA
Top-10% composite Life Score — grade A, 93rd percentile of the national corpus.
- 62.4
- Life Score / 100
- A
- Grade (curved)
- #27
- of 387 metros
- 93%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Waterloo-Cedar Falls is top-10% composite Life Score — #27 of 387 (62.4/100, grade A, 93rd percentile). Carried by cost of living at 91/100; held back most by environment at 15/100.
- 93rd
- composite percentile
- #27
- of 387 peers
- 91st
- cost dimension percentile
- 32nd
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · COST-LED · signature composite
Waterloo-Cedar Falls: top-third composite Life Score
Waterloo-Cedar Falls clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#27 of 387, 62.4/100, grade A, 93rd percentile). Stamps TOP · COST-LED; cost FLOOR (91st) · wages LOW (32nd). Cost of Living at 91/100 carries the lead; Environment (15/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA ranks #27 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #35 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
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: 14.1:1 ratio, 0.3% charter. DOL infant childcare $8,306/yr. EPA: 25 Superfund sites (IA).
Where Waterloo-Cedar Falls sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
62 Top 7% higher than 93% 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 62.4 is built
Waterloo-Cedar Falls's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Waterloo-Cedar Falls scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are IA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Waterloo-Cedar Falls With...
Ranking Context
Waterloo-Cedar Falls outranks 93% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #24 | Shreveport-Bossier City, LA | 62.7 | A |
| #25 | Duluth, MN-WI | 62.7 | A |
| #26 | Bowling Green, KY | 62.8 | A |
| #27 | Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 62.4 | A |
| #28 | Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA | 62.2 | A |
| #29 | Hammond, LA | 62.1 | A |
| #30 | Dalton, GA | 62.0 | A |
Quality vs. Affordability
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA's quality rank (top 7% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 9% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
IA Metro Scores
Read with Waterloo-Cedar Falls
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Waterloo-Cedar Falls (TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 62.2 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Hammond, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 62.1 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Duluth, MN-WI
ABS(composite) peer at 62.7 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 62.7 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Parkersburg-Vienna, WV (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 91/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Minot, ND (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 91/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Waterloo-Cedar Falls's top-third Life Score
Waterloo-Cedar Falls scores 62.4/100 overall, but Cost of Living (91.2) and Environment (14.5) sit 76.7 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Cost of Living is the strongest of Waterloo-Cedar Falls'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
- 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
- Ames is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Ames
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.