What is the cost of living in Wenatchee-East Wenatchee?

Wenatchee-East Wenatchee has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 103.9, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 115.0, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,500/month.

What is the median salary in Wenatchee-East Wenatchee?

The median salary in Wenatchee-East Wenatchee is $71,510 annually (mean: $74,853). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse.

How safe is Wenatchee-East Wenatchee?

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

What are the schools like in Wenatchee-East Wenatchee?

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 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee?

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

Is Wenatchee-East Wenatchee a good place to relocate?

Wenatchee-East Wenatchee has a Life Score of 44.4/100 (F), 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 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Wenatchee-East Wenatchee ranks #273 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

Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA

BEA RPP 103.9 ranks #351 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

103.9
Cost index (US=100): $1,500
2BR rent / mo: $71,510
Median salary: 45.9
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Wenatchee-East Wenatchee ranks #273 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (45.9/100), with its strongest marks in air quality and low hazard.

#273
of 387 US metros · Near median: 7,958,180
metro-area population: 329
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,465
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: climate (4/100). 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), Wenatchee-East Wenatchee ranks #273 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 103.9 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,500/mo, median salary $71,510; LiveAbility Score 45.9/100, strongest in air quality and low hazard.

Signature: BEA RPP 103.9 ranks #351 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 103.9 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,500/mo.

LiveAbility 45.9/100 puts Wenatchee-East Wenatchee in the bottom third (#273 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Wenatchee-East Wenatchee area is 46,220.

Wenatchee-East Wenatchee 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)

46 Top 71% higher than 29% 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

Wenatchee-East Wenatchee housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Wenatchee-East Wenatchee MSA; housing RPP 115.0 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,500/mo.

Studio

$1,034

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,143

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,500

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,063

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,516

/month

Wenatchee-East Wenatchee wages and employment

Wenatchee-East Wenatchee posts 46,220 total employment with median salary $71,510 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$71,510

Mean Salary

$74,853

Total Employment

46,220

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$36,450
Retail Salespersons	$37,700
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse	$40,680
Registered Nurses	$112,280
Cashiers	$36,550

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Wenatchee-East Wenatchee 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 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$15,987

per year

Toddler (Center)

$12,531

per year

Preschool (Center)

$12,531

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Wenatchee-East Wenatchee's composite Life Score is 44.4/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

9/100

Bottom decile

Wages

84/100

Elite

Rent

31/100

Weak

Crime

45/100

Average

Schools

73/100

Strong

Childcare

11/100

Bottom decile

Environment

60/100

Above average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Wenatchee-East Wenatchee ranks #273 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 45.9/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Air quality (95/100)

Air quality

95
Low hazard

86
Job market

84
Safety

45
Housing

31
Schools

27
Cost of living

9
Climate

4

What this shows Wenatchee-East Wenatchee's strongest dimensions are air quality and low hazard; its weakest among scored dims is climate at 4/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Wenatchee-East Wenatchee to

Lewiston Lexington-Fayette Lexington Park Lima Lincoln Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway

Metros near Wenatchee-East Wenatchee on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Wenatchee-East Wenatchee 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

Wenatchee-East Wenatchee cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Wenatchee-East Wenatchee 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 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee?

Wenatchee-East Wenatchee runs a $71,510 median salary at a 103.9 cost index, ranking #273 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

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