PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Watertown-Fort Drum, NY

52.5
Life Score / 100
B
Grade (curved)
#166
of 387 metros
57%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Watertown ranks #166 of 387 US metros, ahead of 57% - carried by its environment (96/100) and held back most by schools (6/100).

96
strongest: Environment
89
then: Cost of Living
6
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Watertown sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

53 57th percentile higher than 57% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Watertown Life Score

Watertown's composite score of 52.5 out of 100, a grade of B, places the metro at rank #166 of 387, ahead of 57% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Environment (96/100) and Cost of Living (89/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (6/100) and Childcare (18/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 87.7 (rent-RPP 53.2). BLS median salary $62,801, 34,160 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,405/mo (studio $969).

FBI UCR (NY): 380 violent, 1661 property/100K. NCES: 11.8:1 ratio, 7.1% charter. DOL infant childcare $13,869/yr. EPA: 122 Superfund sites (NY). Ranks #163-#169 below.

Dimension detail

How Watertown scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 89/100 (20%)
Wages 59/100 (20%)
Rent 38/100 (15%)
Safety 36/100 (15%)
Schools 6/100 (10%)
Childcare 18/100 (10%)
Environment 96/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

87.7
Cost Index (RPP)
$62,801
Avg Median Salary
$1,405
2BR Fair Market Rent
380
Violent Crime/100K (NY)
11.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$13,869
Infant Childcare/yr (NY)
122
Superfund Sites (NY)
34,160
Total Employment

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

Compare Watertown With...

Watertown vs Utica Compare → Watertown vs Binghamton Compare → Watertown vs Syracuse Compare → Watertown vs Wildwood Compare → Watertown vs Waterloo Compare → Watertown vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Watertown outranks 57% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#163 Winchester, VA-WV 52.6 B
#164 Roanoke, VA 52.6 B
#165 Columbia, SC 52.6 B
#166 Watertown-Fort Drum, NY 52.5 B
#167 Oklahoma City, OK 52.5 B
#168 Reno, NV 52.5 B
#169 Utica-Rome, NY 52.5 B

NY Metro Scores

Utica-Rome, NY B 52.5 Binghamton, NY C+ 46.9 Syracuse, NY C+ 46.9 Rochester, NY C 42.3 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY C- 41.0 Elmira, NY C- 39.9

Using Watertown's Life Score

Watertown 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 (96/100) and its weakest is schools (6/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Watertown head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Watertown 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 Watertown's biggest strengths? ▼
Watertown's strongest dimensions are Environment (96/100), Cost of Living (89/100), Wages (59/100). Environment is top-tier nationally.
What are Watertown's weakest areas? ▼
Watertown's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (6/100), Childcare (18/100), Safety (36/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Watertown compared to the national average? ▼
Watertown's Regional Price Parity is 87.7 (12.3% less than national); rent RPP 53.2.
What is the average salary in Watertown? ▼
Watertown median salary: $62,801, 34,160 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Watertown's 52.5/100 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.