PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Yakima, WA

54.4
Life Score / 100
B
Grade (curved)
#133
of 387 metros
66%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Yakima ranks #133 of 387 US metros, ahead of 66% - carried by its environment (99/100) and held back most by childcare (11/100).

99
strongest: Environment
76
then: Wages
11
weakest: Childcare
7
weighted dimensions

Where Yakima sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

54 66th percentile higher than 66% 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 Yakima Life Score

Yakima's composite score of 54.4 out of 100, a grade of B, places the metro at rank #133 of 387, ahead of 66% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Environment (99/100) and Wages (76/100), which pull the composite upward, while Childcare (11/100) and Rent (40/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 95.5 (rent-RPP 72.6). BLS median salary $70,002, 90,310 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,374/mo (studio $1,040).

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 #130-#136 below.

Dimension detail

How Yakima scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 40/100 (20%)
Wages 76/100 (20%)
Rent 40/100 (15%)
Safety 45/100 (15%)
Schools 74/100 (10%)
Childcare 11/100 (10%)
Environment 99/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

95.5
Cost Index (RPP)
$70,002
Avg Median Salary
$1,374
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)
90,310
Total Employment

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

Compare Yakima With...

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

Ranking Context

Yakima outranks 66% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#130 Birmingham, AL 54.5 B
#131 Williamsport, PA 54.7 B
#132 St. Louis, MO-IL 54.7 B
#133 Yakima, WA 54.4 B
#134 Monroe, MI 54.4 B
#135 Albany, GA 54.3 B
#136 Battle Creek, MI 54.3 B

WA Metro Scores

Lewiston, ID-WA A- 60.4 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 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA C+ 48.1

Using Yakima's Life Score

Yakima 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 (99/100) and its weakest is childcare (11/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Yakima head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Yakima 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 Yakima's biggest strengths? ▼
Yakima's strongest dimensions are Environment (99/100), Wages (76/100), Schools (74/100). Environment is top-tier nationally.
What are Yakima's weakest areas? ▼
Yakima's lowest-scoring dimensions are Childcare (11/100), Rent (40/100), Cost of Living (40/100). Childcare weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Yakima compared to the national average? ▼
Yakima's Regional Price Parity is 95.5 (4.5% less than national); rent RPP 72.6.
What is the average salary in Yakima? ▼
Yakima median salary: $70,002, 90,310 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse, Fast Food and Counter Workers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Yakima's 54.4/100 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.