Metro Life Score
Yuma, AZ
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C, 30th percentile of the national corpus.
- 45.4
- Life Score / 100
- C
- Grade (curved)
- #271
- of 387 metros
- 30%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Yuma is below-median composite Life Score — #271 of 387 (45.4/100, grade C, 30th percentile). Carried by environment at 83/100; held back most by safety at 23/100.
- 30th
- composite percentile
- #271
- of 387 peers
- 57th
- cost dimension percentile
- 28th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · ENVIRO-LED · signature wages
Yuma: wage lag defines the peer set
Yuma is a LOWER-band metro where wages sit at only the 28th percentile (LOW) while cost is MID (57th) and composite #271. Safety at 23/100 is the clearest drag; Environment (83/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Yuma, AZ ranks #271 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #168 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 92.7 (rent-RPP 73.8). BLS median salary $60,787, 61,240 jobs (Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse, Cashiers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,382/mo (studio $1,046).
FBI UCR (AZ): 429 violent, 1786 property/100K. NCES: 17.2:1 ratio, 25.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,301/yr. EPA: 13 Superfund sites (AZ).
Where Yuma sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
45 30th percentile higher than 30% 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 45.4 is built
Yuma's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Yuma scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are AZ state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Yuma With...
Ranking Context
Yuma outranks 30% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #268 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 45.5 | C |
| #269 | Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 45.5 | C+ |
| #270 | Spartanburg, SC | 45.7 | C+ |
| #271 | Yuma, AZ | 45.4 | C |
| #272 | Albany, OR | 45.4 | C |
| #273 | Eugene-Springfield, OR | 45.4 | C |
| #274 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 45.4 | C |
Quality vs. Affordability
Yuma, AZ is bottom 30% lowest-quality nationally and also top 43% most affordable -- a rarer combination among its composite-quality peers, where overall rank and affordability rank usually diverge more than this.
AZ Metro Scores
Read with Yuma
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Yuma (LOWER · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Albany, OR
ABS(composite) peer at 45.4 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW.
Eugene-Springfield, OR
ABS(composite) peer at 45.4 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW.
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
ABS(composite) peer at 45.4 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW.
Raleigh-Cary, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 45.4 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW.
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 56/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Champaign-Urbana, IL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 57/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Yuma, AZ relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Yuma's bottom-third Life Score
Yuma scores 45.4/100 overall, but Environment (83.2) and Safety (23.1) sit 60.1 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Environment is the strongest of Yuma's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Safety is the weakest (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Sierra Vista is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Sierra Vista
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.