PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Wilmington, NC

57.2
Life Score / 100
B+
Grade (curved)
#93
of 387 metros
76%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Wilmington ranks #93 of 387 US metros, ahead of 76% - carried by its environment (98/100) and held back most by rent (36/100).

98
strongest: Environment
92
then: Safety
36
weakest: Rent
7
weighted dimensions

Where Wilmington sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

57 Top 24% higher than 76% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Wilmington Life Score

Wilmington's composite score of 57.2 out of 100, a grade of B+, places the metro at rank #93 of 387, ahead of 76% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Environment (98/100) and Safety (92/100), which pull the composite upward, while Rent (36/100) and Cost of Living (36/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 96.4 (rent-RPP 93.2). BLS median salary $64,296, 183,460 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,426/mo (studio $1,242).

FBI UCR (NC): 365 violent, 1930 property/100K. NCES: 15.8:1 ratio, 7.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $9,487/yr. EPA: 42 Superfund sites (NC). Ranks #90-#96 below.

Dimension detail

How Wilmington scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 36/100 (20%)
Wages 45/100 (20%)
Rent 36/100 (15%)
Safety 92/100 (15%)
Schools 62/100 (10%)
Childcare 57/100 (10%)
Environment 98/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

96.4
Cost Index (RPP)
$64,296
Avg Median Salary
$1,426
2BR Fair Market Rent
365
Violent Crime/100K (NC)
15.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$9,487
Infant Childcare/yr (NC)
42
Superfund Sites (NC)
183,460
Total Employment

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

Compare Wilmington With...

Wilmington vs Winston Compare → Wilmington vs Greenville Compare → Wilmington vs Rocky Mount Compare → Wilmington vs Wildwood Compare → Wilmington vs Waterloo Compare → Wilmington vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Wilmington outranks 76% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#90 Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA 57.4 B+
#91 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 57.6 B+
#92 Valdosta, GA 57.7 B+
#93 Wilmington, NC 57.2 B+
#94 Fargo, ND-MN 57.2 B+
#95 Rapid City, SD 57.2 B+
#96 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC 57.2 B+

NC Metro Scores

Winston-Salem, NC A+ 69.8 Greenville, NC A+ 66.6 Rocky Mount, NC A+ 65.8 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC A 63.4 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC A- 59.2 Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC B+ 58.6

Using Wilmington's Life Score

Wilmington 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 (98/100) and its weakest is rent (36/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Wilmington head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Wilmington 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 Wilmington's biggest strengths? ▼
Wilmington's strongest dimensions are Environment (98/100), Safety (92/100), Schools (62/100). Environment is top-tier nationally.
What are Wilmington's weakest areas? ▼
Wilmington's lowest-scoring dimensions are Rent (36/100), Cost of Living (36/100), Wages (45/100). Rent weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Wilmington compared to the national average? ▼
Wilmington's Regional Price Parity is 96.4 (3.6% less than national); rent RPP 93.2.
What is the average salary in Wilmington? ▼
Wilmington median salary: $64,296, 183,460 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Wilmington's 57.2/100 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.