Metro Life Score
Wheeling, WV-OH
Top-10% composite Life Score — grade A-, 90th percentile of the national corpus.
- 61.2
- Life Score / 100
- A-
- Grade (curved)
- #40
- of 387 metros
- 90%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Wheeling is top-10% composite Life Score — #40 of 387 (61.2/100, grade A-, 90th percentile). Carried by rent at 94/100; held back most by schools at 15/100.
- 90th
- composite percentile
- #40
- of 387 peers
- 85th
- cost dimension percentile
- 17th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · BALANCED · signature composite
Wheeling: top-third composite Life Score
Wheeling clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#40 of 387, 61.2/100, grade A-, 90th percentile). Stamps TOP · BALANCED; cost FLOOR (85th) · wages LOW (17th). Rent at 94/100 carries the lead; Schools (15/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Wheeling, WV-OH ranks #40 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #58 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
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: 13.3:1 ratio, 0.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $8,974/yr. EPA: 14 Superfund sites (WV).
Where Wheeling sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
61 Top 10% higher than 90% 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 61.2 is built
Wheeling's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Wheeling scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are WV state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Wheeling With...
Ranking Context
Wheeling outranks 90% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #37 | Mankato, MN | 61.4 | A |
| #38 | Jacksonville, FL | 61.7 | A |
| #39 | Toledo, OH | 61.8 | A |
| #40 | Wheeling, WV-OH | 61.2 | A- |
| #41 | Grand Forks, ND-MN | 61.2 | A |
| #42 | Gulfport-Biloxi, MS | 61.2 | A |
| #43 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 61.2 | A- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Wheeling, WV-OH's quality rank (top 10% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 15% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
WV Metro Scores
Read with Wheeling
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Wheeling (TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Grand Forks, ND-MN
ABS(composite) peer at 61.2 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Gulfport-Biloxi, MS
ABS(composite) peer at 61.2 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 61.2 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Twin Falls, ID *
ABS(composite) peer at 61.1 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 85/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's FLOOR.
Valdosta, GA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 85/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Wheeling, WV-OH relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Wheeling's top-third Life Score
Wheeling scores 61.2/100 overall, but Rent (93.8) and Schools (15.0) sit 78.8 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Rent is the strongest of Wheeling's seven dimensions (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Schools is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Huntington is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Huntington
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.