Metro Life Score
Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA
Below-median composite Life Score — grade B-, 46th percentile of the national corpus.
- 49.0
- Life Score / 100
- B-
- Grade (curved)
- #210
- of 387 metros
- 46%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Spokane-Spokane Valley is below-median composite Life Score — #210 of 387 (49.0/100, grade B-, 46th percentile). Carried by wages at 88/100; held back most by childcare at 12/100.
- 46th
- composite percentile
- #210
- of 387 peers
- 21st
- cost dimension percentile
- 88th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · WAGE-LED · signature wages
Spokane-Spokane Valley: pay power is the signature
Spokane-Spokane Valley stamps MID · WAGE-LED with wages at the 88th percentile of the metro corpus (PEAK) — ahead of its cost mark (DEAR, 21st) and composite #210. Wages (88/100) amplifies the lead; Childcare (12/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA ranks #210 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #307 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 100.3 (rent-RPP 97.1). BLS median salary $74,608, 246,430 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,531/mo (studio $1,103).
FBI UCR (WA): 329 violent, 2498 property/100K. NCES: 17.7:1 ratio, 0.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $15,987/yr. EPA: 69 Superfund sites (WA).
Where Spokane-Spokane Valley sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
49 46th percentile higher than 46% 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 49.0 is built
Spokane-Spokane Valley's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Spokane-Spokane Valley 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 Spokane-Spokane Valley With...
Ranking Context
Spokane-Spokane Valley outranks 46% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #207 | Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA | 49.1 | B- |
| #208 | Ocala, FL | 49.1 | B- |
| #209 | Reno, NV | 49.2 | B- |
| #210 | Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | 49.0 | B- |
| #211 | Columbia, MO | 49.0 | B- |
| #212 | Kalamazoo-Portage, MI | 49.0 | B- |
| #213 | Lansing-East Lansing, MI | 49.0 | B- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA is bottom 46% lowest-quality nationally but only bottom 21% least affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
WA Metro Scores
Read with Spokane-Spokane Valley
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Spokane-Spokane Valley (MID · WAGE-LED · DEAR/PEAK), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Columbia, MO
ABS(composite) peer at 49.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · WAGE-LED · DEAR/PEAK.
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 49.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · WAGE-LED · DEAR/PEAK.
Lansing-East Lansing, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 49.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · WAGE-LED · DEAR/PEAK.
Michigan City-La Porte, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 48.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · WAGE-LED · DEAR/PEAK.
Flagstaff, AZ (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 21/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Ogden, UT (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 20/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · WAGE-LED · DEAR/PEAK - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Spokane-Spokane Valley's middle-third Life Score
Spokane-Spokane Valley scores 49.0/100 overall, but Wages (88.3) and Childcare (11.8) sit 76.6 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Wages is the strongest of Spokane-Spokane Valley's seven dimensions (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Childcare is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Yakima is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Yakima
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.