PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Kennewick-Richland, WA

48.5
Life Score / 100
B-
Grade (curved)
#216
of 387 metros
44%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Kennewick ranks #216 of 387 US metros, ahead of 44% - carried by its wages (98/100) and held back most by childcare (13/100).

98
strongest: Wages
71
then: Schools
13
weakest: Childcare
7
weighted dimensions

Where Kennewick sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

49 44th percentile higher than 44% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 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 Kennewick Life Score

Kennewick's composite score of 48.5 out of 100, a grade of B-, places the metro at rank #216 of 387, ahead of 44% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (98/100) and Schools (71/100), which pull the composite upward, while Childcare (13/100) and Cost of Living (23/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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). Ranks #213-#219 below.

Dimension detail

How Kennewick scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 23/100 (20%)
Wages 98/100 (20%)
Rent 29/100 (15%)
Safety 47/100 (15%)
Schools 71/100 (10%)
Childcare 13/100 (10%)
Environment 46/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

100.1
Cost Index (RPP)
$78,814
Avg Median Salary
$1,538
2BR Fair Market Rent
329
Violent Crime/100K (WA)
17.6:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$15,987
Infant Childcare/yr (WA)
69
Superfund Sites (WA)
120,710
Total Employment

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

Compare Kennewick With...

Kennewick vs Lewiston Compare → Kennewick vs Yakima Compare → Kennewick vs Longview Compare → Kennewick vs Wildwood Compare → Kennewick vs Waterloo Compare → Kennewick vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Kennewick outranks 44% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#213 Savannah, GA 48.6 B-
#214 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 48.6 B-
#215 Waterbury-Shelton, CT 48.7 B-
#216 Kennewick-Richland, WA 48.5 B-
#217 Midland, TX 48.5 C+
#218 Las Cruces, NM 48.1 C+
#219 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA 48.1 C+

WA Metro Scores

Lewiston, ID-WA A- 60.4 Yakima, WA B 54.4 Longview-Kelso, WA B- 50.0 Walla Walla, WA B- 49.6 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA B- 49.4 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA C+ 48.1

Using Kennewick's Life Score

Kennewick 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 wages (98/100) and its weakest is childcare (13/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Kennewick head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Kennewick 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 Kennewick's biggest strengths? ▼
Kennewick's strongest dimensions are Wages (98/100), Schools (71/100), Safety (47/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Kennewick's weakest areas? ▼
Kennewick's lowest-scoring dimensions are Childcare (13/100), Cost of Living (23/100), Rent (29/100). Childcare weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Kennewick compared to the national average? ▼
Kennewick's Regional Price Parity is 100.1 (0.1% more than national); rent RPP 94.8.
What is the average salary in Kennewick? ▼
Kennewick median salary: $78,814, 120,710 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Kennewick's 48.5/100 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.