PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA

48.1
Life Score / 100
C+
Grade (curved)
#219
of 387 metros
43%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Wenatchee ranks #219 of 387 US metros, ahead of 43% - carried by its environment (96/100) and held back most by cost of living (9/100).

96
strongest: Environment
84
then: Wages
9
weakest: Cost of Living
7
weighted dimensions

Where Wenatchee sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

48 43th percentile higher than 43% 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 Wenatchee Life Score

Wenatchee's composite score of 48.1 out of 100, a grade of C+, places the metro at rank #219 of 387, ahead of 43% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Environment (96/100) and Wages (84/100), which pull the composite upward, while Cost of Living (9/100) and Childcare (11/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 103.9 (rent-RPP 115.0). BLS median salary $71,510, 46,220 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse). HUD 2BR FMR $1,500/mo (studio $1,034).

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 #216-#222 below.

Dimension detail

How Wenatchee scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 9/100 (20%)
Wages 84/100 (20%)
Rent 31/100 (15%)
Safety 45/100 (15%)
Schools 73/100 (10%)
Childcare 11/100 (10%)
Environment 96/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

103.9
Cost Index (RPP)
$71,510
Avg Median Salary
$1,500
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)
46,220
Total Employment

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

Compare Wenatchee With...

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

Ranking Context

Wenatchee outranks 43% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#216 Midland, TX 48.5 C+
#217 Kennewick-Richland, WA 48.5 B-
#218 Savannah, GA 48.6 B-
#219 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA 48.1 C+
#220 Las Cruces, NM 48.1 C+
#221 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 48.0 C+
#222 St. George, UT 48.0 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 Kennewick-Richland, WA B- 48.5

Using Wenatchee's Life Score

Wenatchee 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 environment (96/100) and its weakest is cost of living (9/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Wenatchee head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Wenatchee 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 Wenatchee's biggest strengths? ▼
Wenatchee's strongest dimensions are Environment (96/100), Wages (84/100), Schools (73/100). Environment is top-tier nationally.
What are Wenatchee's weakest areas? ▼
Wenatchee's lowest-scoring dimensions are Cost of Living (9/100), Childcare (11/100), Rent (31/100). Cost of Living weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Wenatchee compared to the national average? ▼
Wenatchee's Regional Price Parity is 103.9 (3.9% more than national); rent RPP 115.0.
What is the average salary in Wenatchee? ▼
Wenatchee median salary: $71,510, 46,220 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Wenatchee's 48.1/100 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.