PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Youngstown-Warren, OH

65.8
Life Score / 100
A
Grade (curved)
#12
of 387 metros
97%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Youngstown ranks #12 of 387 US metros, ahead of 97% - carried by its environment (99/100) and held back most by wages (17/100).

99
strongest: Environment
94
then: Rent
17
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Youngstown sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

66 Top 3% higher than 97% 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 Youngstown Life Score

Youngstown's composite score of 65.8 out of 100, a grade of A, places the metro at rank #12 of 387, ahead of 97% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Environment (99/100) and Rent (94/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (17/100) and Childcare (30/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 87.4 (rent-RPP 53.4). BLS median salary $58,019, 152,720 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers). HUD 2BR FMR $973/mo (studio $735).

FBI UCR (OH): 293 violent, 1545 property/100K. NCES: 18.2:1 ratio, 9.3% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,791/yr. EPA: 50 Superfund sites (OH). Ranks #9-#15 below.

Dimension detail

How Youngstown scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 90/100 (20%)
Wages 17/100 (20%)
Rent 94/100 (15%)
Safety 56/100 (15%)
Schools 88/100 (10%)
Childcare 30/100 (10%)
Environment 99/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

87.4
Cost Index (RPP)
$58,019
Avg Median Salary
$973
2BR Fair Market Rent
293
Violent Crime/100K (OH)
18.2:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$11,791
Infant Childcare/yr (OH)
50
Superfund Sites (OH)
152,720
Total Employment

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

Compare Youngstown With...

Youngstown vs Wheeling Compare → Youngstown vs Toledo Compare → Youngstown vs Weirton Compare → Youngstown vs Wildwood Compare → Youngstown vs Waterloo Compare → Youngstown vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Youngstown outranks 97% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#9 Tuscaloosa, AL 66.3 A+
#10 Toledo, OH 66.3 A+
#11 Greenville, NC 66.6 A+
#12 Youngstown-Warren, OH 65.8 A
#13 Rocky Mount, NC 65.8 A+
#14 Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH 65.7 A
#15 Ames, IA 65.2 A

OH Metro Scores

Wheeling, WV-OH A+ 68.2 Toledo, OH A+ 66.3 Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH A 65.7 Sandusky, OH A- 61.4 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH A- 60.5 Springfield, OH A- 60.1

Using Youngstown's Life Score

Youngstown 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 (99/100) and its weakest is wages (17/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Youngstown head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Youngstown 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 Youngstown's biggest strengths? ▼
Youngstown's strongest dimensions are Environment (99/100), Rent (94/100), Cost of Living (90/100). Environment is top-tier nationally.
What are Youngstown's weakest areas? ▼
Youngstown's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (17/100), Childcare (30/100), Safety (56/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Youngstown compared to the national average? ▼
Youngstown's Regional Price Parity is 87.4 (12.6% less than national); rent RPP 53.4.
What is the average salary in Youngstown? ▼
Youngstown median salary: $58,019, 152,720 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Youngstown's 65.8/100 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.