PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Wheeling, WV-OH

68.2
Life Score / 100
A+
Grade (curved)
#6
of 387 metros
98%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Wheeling ranks #6 of 387 US metros, ahead of 98% - carried by its safety (98/100) and held back most by wages (21/100).

98
strongest: Safety
97
then: Environment
21
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Wheeling sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

68 Top 2% higher than 98% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Wheeling Life Score

Wheeling's composite score of 68.2 out of 100, a grade of A+, places the metro at rank #6 of 387, ahead of 98% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (98/100) and Environment (97/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (21/100) and Schools (23/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 88.3 (rent-RPP 51.4). BLS median salary $58,635, 52,560 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Cashiers, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $991/mo (studio $683).

FBI UCR (WV): 242 violent, 1089 property/100K. NCES: 13.1:1 ratio, 0.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $8,974/yr. EPA: 14 Superfund sites (WV). Ranks #3-#9 below.

Dimension detail

How Wheeling scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 85/100 (20%)
Wages 21/100 (20%)
Rent 94/100 (15%)
Safety 98/100 (15%)
Schools 23/100 (10%)
Childcare 61/100 (10%)
Environment 97/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

88.3
Cost Index (RPP)
$58,635
Avg Median Salary
$991
2BR Fair Market Rent
242
Violent Crime/100K (WV)
13.1:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$8,974
Infant Childcare/yr (WV)
14
Superfund Sites (WV)
52,560
Total Employment

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

Compare Wheeling With...

Wheeling vs Weirton Compare → Wheeling vs Parkersburg Compare → Wheeling vs Charleston Compare → Wheeling vs Wildwood Compare → Wheeling vs Waterloo Compare → Wheeling vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Wheeling outranks 98% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#3 St. Cloud, MN 69.5 A+
#4 Winston-Salem, NC 69.8 A+
#5 Paducah, KY-IL 70.0 A+
#6 Wheeling, WV-OH 68.2 A+
#7 Sioux City, IA-NE-SD 66.7 A+
#8 Greenville, NC 66.6 A+
#9 Toledo, OH 66.3 A+

WV Metro Scores

Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH A 65.7 Parkersburg-Vienna, WV A 65.2 Charleston, WV A 61.9 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH A- 60.5 Morgantown, WV A- 59.5 Beckley, WV B+ 56.5

Using Wheeling's Life Score

Wheeling 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 safety (98/100) and its weakest is wages (21/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Wheeling head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Wheeling 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 Wheeling's biggest strengths? ▼
Wheeling's strongest dimensions are Safety (98/100), Environment (97/100), Rent (94/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Wheeling's weakest areas? ▼
Wheeling's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (21/100), Schools (23/100), Childcare (61/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Wheeling compared to the national average? ▼
Wheeling's Regional Price Parity is 88.3 (11.7% less than national); rent RPP 51.4.
What is the average salary in Wheeling? ▼
Wheeling median salary: $58,635, 52,560 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Cashiers, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Wheeling's 68.2/100 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.