What is the cost of living in Longview?

Longview has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 89.5, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 66.7, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,199/month.

What is the median salary in Longview?

The median salary in Longview is $58,714 annually (mean: $62,385). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Stockers and Order Fillers.

How safe is Longview?

The violent crime rate in the Longview area is 395 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 2058 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Longview?

The state of TX has 9,061 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.7:1. Charter schools make up 11.4% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Longview?

Infant center-based childcare in the Longview area averages $7,566 per year. Preschool averages $6,926/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Longview a good place to relocate?

Longview has a Life Score of 53.2/100 (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 sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Longview ranks #151 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, TX

BEA RPP 89.5 ranks #89 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

89.5
Cost index (US=100): $1,199
2BR rent / mo: $58,714
Median salary: 53.8
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Longview ranks #151 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (53.8/100), with its strongest marks in climate and air quality.

#151
of 387 US metros · Above median: 31,290,831
metro-area population: 395
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 9,061
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: low hazard (3/100). 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 ranks #151 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 89.5 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,199/mo, median salary $58,714; LiveAbility Score 53.8/100, strongest in climate and air quality.

Signature: BEA RPP 89.5 ranks #89 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 89.5 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,199/mo.

LiveAbility 53.8/100 keeps Longview in the middle third (#151 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Longview area is 109,710.

Longview 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)

54 Top 40% higher than 60% 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 housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Longview MSA; housing RPP 66.7 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,199/mo.

Studio

$1,007

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,013

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,199

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,606

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,694

/month

Longview wages and employment

Longview posts 109,710 total employment with median salary $58,714 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$58,714

Mean Salary

$62,385

Total Employment

109,710

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$26,730
General and Operations Managers	$89,660
Stockers and Order Fillers	$35,770
Retail Salespersons	$29,130
Cashiers	$27,740

Schools & Education

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

Schools

9,061

Enrollment

5,491,723

Student:Teacher

14.7:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

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

Infant (Center)

$7,566

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,109

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,926

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Longview's composite Life Score is 53.2/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

77/100

Strong

Wages

16/100

Bottom decile

Rent

63/100

Above average

Crime

32/100

Weak

Schools

40/100

Below average

Childcare

75/100

Strong

Environment

87/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Longview ranks #151 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 53.8/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Climate (99/100)

Climate

99
Air quality

86
Cost of living

77
Housing

64
Schools

60
Safety

32
Job market

16
Low hazard

3

What this shows Longview's strongest dimensions are climate and air quality; its weakest among scored dims is low hazard at 3/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Longview to

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin Chico Cincinnati Clarksville Cleveland Cleveland

Metros near Longview on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Longview 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 cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Longview 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?

Longview runs a $58,714 median salary at a 89.5 cost index, ranking #151 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Longview's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Longview head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Longview
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.