What is the cost of living in Wichita Falls?

Wichita Falls has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 89.5, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 68.2, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,136/month.

What is the median salary in Wichita Falls?

The median salary in Wichita Falls is $56,840 annually (mean: $60,457). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Wichita Falls?

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

What are the schools like in Wichita Falls?

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 Wichita Falls?

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

Is Wichita Falls a good place to relocate?

Wichita Falls 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 Wichita Falls sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Wichita Falls ranks #228 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

Wichita Falls, TX

BEA RPP 89.5 ranks #91 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

89.5
Cost index (US=100): $1,136
2BR rent / mo: $56,840
Median salary: 49.1
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Wichita Falls ranks #228 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (49.1/100), with its strongest marks in climate and cost of living.

#228
of 387 US metros · Near 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 (0/100). 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), Wichita Falls ranks #228 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 89.5 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,136/mo, median salary $56,840; LiveAbility Score 49.1/100, strongest in climate and cost of living.

Signature: BEA RPP 89.5 ranks #91 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 $1,136/mo.

LiveAbility 49.1/100 keeps Wichita Falls in the middle third (#228 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Wichita Falls area is 49,490.

Wichita Falls 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)

49 Top 59% higher than 41% 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

Wichita Falls housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Wichita Falls MSA; housing RPP 68.2 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,136/mo.

Studio

$831

/month

1 Bedroom

$925

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,136

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,553

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,759

/month

Wichita Falls wages and employment

Wichita Falls posts 49,490 total employment with median salary $56,840 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$56,840

Mean Salary

$60,457

Total Employment

49,490

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$25,540
General and Operations Managers	$76,320
Retail Salespersons	$28,610
Registered Nurses	$83,280
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$22,950

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Wichita Falls 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 Wichita Falls area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,566

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,109

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,926

per year

Life Score Breakdown

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

Cost

77/100

Strong

Wages

8/100

Bottom decile

Rent

76/100

Strong

Crime

29/100

Weak

Schools

44/100

Below average

Childcare

71/100

Strong

Environment

90/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Wichita Falls ranks #228 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 49.1/100 - a composite of 7 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized). Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Climate (94/100)

Climate

94
Cost of living

77
Housing

76
Schools

57
Safety

29
Job market

8
Low hazard

0

What this shows Wichita Falls's strongest dimensions are climate and cost of living; its weakest among scored dims is low hazard at 0/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%; this metro uses 7 of 8 dims with renormalized weights.

Compare Wichita Falls to

Syracuse Tallahassee Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Terre Haute Texarkana Toledo

Metros near Wichita Falls on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Wichita Falls 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

Wichita Falls cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Wichita Falls 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 Wichita Falls?

Wichita Falls runs a $56,840 median salary at a 89.5 cost index, ranking #228 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

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