What is the cost of living in Longview-Kelso?

Longview-Kelso has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 97.5, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 82.5, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,451/month.

What is the median salary in Longview-Kelso?

The median salary in Longview-Kelso is $72,685 annually (mean: $75,526). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Longview-Kelso?

The violent crime rate in the Longview-Kelso area is 329 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 2498 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Longview-Kelso?

The state of WA has 2,465 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.6:1. Charter schools make up 0.6% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Longview-Kelso?

Infant center-based childcare in the Longview-Kelso area averages $15,987 per year. Preschool averages $12,531/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Longview-Kelso a good place to relocate?

Longview-Kelso has a Life Score of 50.4/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Longview-Kelso sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Longview-Kelso ranks #118 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Longview-Kelso, WA

LiveAbility 55.7/100 places Longview-Kelso #118 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

97.5
Cost index (US=100): $1,451
2BR rent / mo: $72,685
Median salary: 55.7
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Longview-Kelso ranks #118 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (55.7/100), with its strongest marks in air quality and job market.

#118
of 387 US metros · Above median: 7,958,180
metro-area population: 329
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,465
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: schools (29/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Longview-Kelso ranks #118 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 97.5 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,451/mo, median salary $72,685; LiveAbility Score 55.7/100, strongest in air quality and job market.

Signature: LiveAbility 55.7/100 places Longview-Kelso #118 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 97.5 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,451/mo.

LiveAbility 55.7/100 puts Longview-Kelso in the top third (#118 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Longview-Kelso area is 34,650.

Longview-Kelso vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

56 Top 31% higher than 69% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

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 and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Longview-Kelso housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Longview-Kelso MSA; housing RPP 82.5 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,451/mo.

Studio

$1,000

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,199

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,451

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,018

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,434

/month

Longview-Kelso wages and employment

Longview-Kelso posts 34,650 total employment with median salary $72,685 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$72,685

Mean Salary

$75,526

Total Employment

34,650

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$47,840
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$36,020
Retail Salespersons	$38,680
Cashiers	$36,350
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$40,510

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Longview-Kelso area from NCES.

Schools

2,465

Enrollment

1,092,149

Student:Teacher

17.6:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Longview-Kelso area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$15,987

per year

Toddler (Center)

$12,531

per year

Preschool (Center)

$12,531

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Longview-Kelso's composite Life Score is 50.4/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

31/100

Weak

Wages

89/100

Elite

Rent

35/100

Below average

Crime

47/100

Average

Schools

71/100

Strong

Childcare

13/100

Bottom decile

Environment

59/100

Above average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Longview-Kelso ranks #118 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 55.7/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Air quality (98/100)

Air quality

98
Job market

89
Low hazard

88
Climate

49
Safety

47
Housing

35
Cost of living

31
Schools

29

What this shows Longview-Kelso's strongest dimensions are air quality and job market; its weakest among scored dims is schools at 29/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Longview-Kelso to

Bismarck Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Bloomington Bloomington Boise City Boston-Cambridge-Newton

Metros near Longview-Kelso on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Longview-Kelso on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Longview-Kelso cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Longview-Kelso wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Longview-Kelso?

Longview-Kelso runs a $72,685 median salary at a 97.5 cost index, ranking #118 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Longview-Kelso's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Longview-Kelso head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Longview-Kelso
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.