Metro Life Score
Kennewick-Richland, WA
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B-, 54th percentile of the national corpus.
- 50.6
- Life Score / 100
- B-
- Grade (curved)
- #179
- of 387 metros
- 54%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Kennewick-Richland is above-median composite Life Score — #179 of 387 (50.6/100, grade B-, 54th percentile). Carried by wages at 95/100; held back most by childcare at 13/100.
- 54th
- composite percentile
- #179
- of 387 peers
- 22nd
- cost dimension percentile
- 94th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · WAGE-LED · signature wages
Kennewick-Richland: pay power is the signature
Kennewick-Richland stamps MID · WAGE-LED with wages at the 94th percentile of the metro corpus (PEAK) — ahead of its cost mark (DEAR, 22nd) and composite #179. Wages (95/100) amplifies the lead; Childcare (13/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Kennewick-Richland, WA ranks #179 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #300 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 100.1 (rent-RPP 94.8). BLS median salary $78,814, 120,710 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,538/mo (studio $1,122).
FBI UCR (WA): 329 violent, 2498 property/100K. NCES: 17.6:1 ratio, 0.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $15,987/yr. EPA: 69 Superfund sites (WA).
Where Kennewick-Richland sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
51 54th percentile higher than 54% 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
Dimension detail
How Kennewick-Richland scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are WA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Kennewick-Richland With...
Ranking Context
Kennewick-Richland outranks 54% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #176 | Elkhart-Goshen, IN | 50.7 | B- |
| #177 | Warner Robins, GA | 50.8 | B- |
| #178 | Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT | 50.8 | B- |
| #179 | Kennewick-Richland, WA | 50.6 | B- |
| #180 | Williamsport, PA | 50.6 | B- |
| #181 | Jefferson City, MO | 50.5 | B- |
| #182 | Greensboro-High Point, NC | 50.4 | B- |
WA Metro Scores
Read with Kennewick-Richland
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Kennewick-Richland (MID · WAGE-LED · DEAR/PEAK), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Williamsport, PA
ABS(composite) peer at 50.6 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · WAGE-LED · DEAR/PEAK.
Elkhart-Goshen, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 50.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · WAGE-LED · DEAR/PEAK.
Jefferson City, MO
ABS(composite) peer at 50.5 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · WAGE-LED · DEAR/PEAK.
Abilene, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 50.8 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · WAGE-LED · DEAR/PEAK.
Greeley, CO (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 22/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 23/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Kennewick-Richland, WA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · WAGE-LED · DEAR/PEAK - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.