Metro Life Score
Wichita Falls, TX
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B, 67th percentile of the national corpus.
- 53.8
- Life Score / 100
- B
- Grade (curved)
- #129
- of 387 metros
- 67%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Wichita Falls is above-median composite Life Score — #129 of 387 (53.8/100, grade B, 67th percentile). Carried by environment at 90/100; held back most by wages at 8/100.
- 67th
- composite percentile
- #129
- of 387 peers
- 76th
- cost dimension percentile
- 7th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · signature wages
Wichita Falls: wage lag defines the peer set
Wichita Falls is a UPPER-band metro where wages sit at only the 7th percentile (LOW) while cost is CHEAP (76th) and composite #129. Wages at 8/100 is the clearest drag; Environment (90/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Wichita Falls, TX ranks #129 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #91 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 89.5 (rent-RPP 68.2). BLS median salary $56,840, 49,490 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,136/mo (studio $831).
FBI UCR (TX): 395 violent, 2058 property/100K. NCES: 14.4:1 ratio, 11.1% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,566/yr. EPA: 70 Superfund sites (TX).
Where Wichita Falls sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
54 67th percentile higher than 67% 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 53.8 is built
Wichita Falls's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Wichita Falls scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are TX state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Wichita Falls With...
Ranking Context
Wichita Falls outranks 67% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #126 | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 53.9 | B |
| #127 | Terre Haute, IN | 53.9 | B |
| #128 | Evansville, IN | 54.0 | B |
| #129 | Wichita Falls, TX | 53.8 | B |
| #130 | Huntsville, AL | 53.7 | B |
| #131 | Valdosta, GA | 53.7 | B |
| #132 | Green Bay, WI | 53.4 | B |
Quality vs. Affordability
Wichita Falls, TX's quality rank (top 33% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 24% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
TX Metro Scores
Read with Wichita Falls
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Wichita Falls (UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Huntsville, AL
ABS(composite) peer at 53.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Valdosta, GA
ABS(composite) peer at 53.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Terre Haute, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 53.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC
ABS(composite) peer at 53.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Altoona, PA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 77/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Kokomo, IN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 76/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Wichita Falls, TX relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Wichita Falls's top-third Life Score
Wichita Falls scores 53.8/100 overall, but Environment (89.9) and Wages (7.5) sit 82.4 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Environment is the strongest of Wichita Falls's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Wages is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Beaumont is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Beaumont
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.