PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Longview, TX

50.0
Life Score / 100
B-
Grade (curved)
#189
of 387 metros
51%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Longview ranks #189 of 387 US metros, ahead of 51% - carried by its cost of living (77/100) and held back most by wages (16/100).

77
strongest: Cost of Living
75
then: Childcare
16
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Longview sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

50 51th percentile higher than 51% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Longview Life Score

Longview's composite score of 50.0 out of 100, a grade of B-, places the metro at rank #189 of 387, ahead of 51% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (77/100) and Childcare (75/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (16/100) and Safety (32/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 89.5 (rent-RPP 66.7). BLS median salary $58,714, 109,710 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Stockers and Order Fillers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,199/mo (studio $1,007).

FBI UCR (TX): 395 violent, 2058 property/100K. NCES: 14.7:1 ratio, 11.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,566/yr. EPA: 70 Superfund sites (TX). Ranks #186-#192 below.

Dimension detail

How Longview scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 77/100 (20%)
Wages 16/100 (20%)
Rent 63/100 (15%)
Safety 32/100 (15%)
Schools 40/100 (10%)
Childcare 75/100 (10%)
Environment 54/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

89.5
Cost Index (RPP)
$58,714
Avg Median Salary
$1,199
2BR Fair Market Rent
395
Violent Crime/100K (TX)
14.7:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,566
Infant Childcare/yr (TX)
70
Superfund Sites (TX)
109,710
Total Employment

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

Compare Longview With...

Longview vs Texarkana Compare → Longview vs Waco Compare → Longview vs San Antonio Compare → Longview vs Wildwood Compare → Longview vs Waterloo Compare → Longview vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Longview outranks 51% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#186 Enid, OK * 50.3 B-
#187 Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI 50.7 B-
#188 Logan, UT-ID 50.7 B-
#189 Longview, TX 50.0 B-
#190 Burlington, NC 50.0 B-
#191 Longview-Kelso, WA 50.0 B-
#192 Bay City, MI 49.9 B-

TX Metro Scores

Texarkana, TX-AR A- 60.7 Waco, TX B+ 58.2 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX B+ 57.6 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX B 55.0 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX B 54.9 Wichita Falls, TX B 53.9

Using Longview's Life Score

Longview 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 cost of living (77/100) and its weakest is wages (16/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Longview head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Longview 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 Longview's biggest strengths? ▼
Longview's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (77/100), Childcare (75/100), Rent (63/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Longview's weakest areas? ▼
Longview's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (16/100), Safety (32/100), Schools (40/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Longview compared to the national average? ▼
Longview's Regional Price Parity is 89.5 (10.5% less than national); rent RPP 66.7.
What is the average salary in Longview? ▼
Longview median salary: $58,714, 109,710 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Stockers and Order Fillers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Longview's 50.0/100 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.