The Suburbs That Outscore the City They Surround
Metropolitan areas are not uniform. In many, a suburb measures better than the principal city on the same standardized scale — and in some it measures worse.
Relocation advice tends to name metropolitan areas. People move to specific municipalities inside them, and those can differ sharply. Across 1,418 published cities that share a metropolitan area with a larger principal city, 868 score higher than that principal city on the same standardized measure — 61% of them.
Key findings
- Collierville, TN outscores Memphis, TN by 28 points, the widest gap measured.
- 868 of 1,418 suburbs score above their principal city; the average gap across all of them is +2.8 points.
- The gap runs both ways: Lauderhill, FL scores 22 points below Miami, FL.
Furthest ahead of their principal city
| City | Area Score | Principal city | Its score | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collierville, TN | 71 | Memphis, TN | 43 | +28 |
| Royal Oak, MI | 74 | Detroit, MI | 47 | +27 |
| Princeton, NJ | 71 | Trenton, NJ | 44 | +27 |
| Menomonee Falls, WI | 77 | Milwaukee, WI | 51 | +26 |
| Brandon, MS | 75 | Jackson, MS | 49 | +26 |
| Olive Branch, MS | 69 | Memphis, TN | 43 | +26 |
| Troy, MI | 72 | Detroit, MI | 47 | +25 |
| Novi, MI | 72 | Detroit, MI | 47 | +25 |
| Mequon, WI | 75 | Milwaukee, WI | 51 | +24 |
| Madison, MS | 73 | Jackson, MS | 49 | +24 |
| Crofton, MD | 78 | Baltimore, MD | 54 | +24 |
| Trussville, AL | 71 | Birmingham, AL | 48 | +23 |
| Hoover, AL | 71 | Birmingham, AL | 48 | +23 |
| Severna Park, MD | 77 | Baltimore, MD | 54 | +23 |
| Zionsville, IN | 81 | Indianapolis, IN | 58 | +23 |
| Highland Park, IL | 75 | Chicago, IL | 52 | +23 |
| Brookfield, WI | 73 | Milwaukee, WI | 51 | +22 |
| Valparaiso, IN | 74 | Chicago, IL | 52 | +22 |
| Germantown, TN | 65 | Memphis, TN | 43 | +22 |
| Rochester Hills, MI | 69 | Detroit, MI | 47 | +22 |
And furthest behind
| City | Area Score | Principal city | Its score | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lauderhill, FL | 35 | Miami, FL | 57 | -22 |
| Moorhead, MN | 46 | Fargo, ND | 68 | -22 |
| National City, CA | 32 | San Diego, CA | 51 | -19 |
| Federal Way, WA | 42 | Seattle, WA | 61 | -19 |
| Deerfield Beach, FL | 38 | Miami, FL | 57 | -19 |
| Dania Beach, FL | 38 | Miami, FL | 57 | -19 |
| Adelanto, CA | 28 | Riverside, CA | 46 | -18 |
| Chillum, MD | 51 | Washington, DC | 68 | -17 |
| Richmond, CA | 39 | San Francisco, CA | 56 | -17 |
| Kent, WA | 44 | Seattle, WA | 61 | -17 |
A higher Area Score is not a verdict on which place is better to live in. It reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting of employment, physical resilience, growth, climate, housing affordability, access and stability. Weight those differently and the ordering changes, which is what Customize Your Score is for.
Methodology
Every published city profile is compared with the largest city in the same metropolitan area, using the same Area Score methodology and the same source releases for both. Only metros where both the principal city and at least one other city are published are included, and a suburb must have at least 25,000 residents — the threshold at which the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a city-level labor series, without which the Opportunity signal cannot be produced. The comparison is of standardized scores, not a claim about which is a better place to live.
Sources
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information — U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) (1991-2020)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Local Area Unemployment Statistics (la)
- Federal Aviation Administration — Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service (NASR current cycle)
- Federal Emergency Management Agency — National Risk Index (1.20.0)
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) (2024)
- U.S. Census Bureau — Building Permits Survey (2026)
Related
Every figure here is recalculated from the same measurements the profiles use. See the methodology for how the underlying data is collected and normalized, and the editorial policy for how these reports are written.