PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Wichita Falls, TX

53.9
Life Score / 100
B
Grade (curved)
#145
of 387 metros
63%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Wichita Falls ranks #145 of 387 US metros, ahead of 63% - carried by its environment (97/100) and held back most by wages (8/100).

97
strongest: Environment
77
then: Cost of Living
8
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Wichita Falls sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

54 63th percentile higher than 63% 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 Wichita Falls Life Score

Wichita Falls's composite score of 53.9 out of 100, a grade of B, places the metro at rank #145 of 387, ahead of 63% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Environment (97/100) and Cost of Living (77/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (8/100) and Safety (29/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 14.7:1 ratio, 11.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,566/yr. EPA: 70 Superfund sites (TX). Ranks #142-#148 below.

Dimension detail

How Wichita Falls scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 77/100 (20%)
Wages 8/100 (20%)
Rent 76/100 (15%)
Safety 29/100 (15%)
Schools 44/100 (10%)
Childcare 71/100 (10%)
Environment 97/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

89.5
Cost Index (RPP)
$56,840
Avg Median Salary
$1,136
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)
49,490
Total Employment

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

Compare Wichita Falls With...

Wichita Falls vs Texarkana Compare → Wichita Falls vs Waco Compare → Wichita Falls vs San Antonio Compare → Wichita Falls vs Wildwood Compare → Wichita Falls vs Waterloo Compare → Wichita Falls vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Wichita Falls outranks 63% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#142 Pittsburgh, PA 54.0 B
#143 Macon-Bibb County, GA 54.0 B
#144 Lawrence, KS 54.0 B
#145 Wichita Falls, TX 53.9 B
#146 Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA 53.9 B
#147 Evansville, IN 53.8 B
#148 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT 53.8 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 Eagle Pass, TX B 53.4

Using Wichita Falls's Life Score

Wichita Falls 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 (97/100) and its weakest is wages (8/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Wichita Falls head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Wichita Falls 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 Wichita Falls's biggest strengths? ▼
Wichita Falls's strongest dimensions are Environment (97/100), Cost of Living (77/100), Rent (76/100). Environment is top-tier nationally.
What are Wichita Falls's weakest areas? ▼
Wichita Falls's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (8/100), Safety (29/100), Schools (44/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Wichita Falls compared to the national average? ▼
Wichita Falls's Regional Price Parity is 89.5 (10.5% less than national); rent RPP 68.2.
What is the average salary in Wichita Falls? ▼
Wichita Falls median salary: $56,840, 49,490 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Wichita Falls's 53.9/100 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.