Longview vs Wichita Falls

Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Wichita Falls is 0% more expensive than Longview.

0% more expensive

Wichita Falls, TX is 0% more expensive than Longview, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 89.5 vs 89.5). A $100,000 salary in Longview buys about the same as $100,031 in Wichita Falls; the largest component gap is rents.

  • Overall RPP 89.5 (Longview) vs 89.5 (Wichita Falls)
  • $100k in Longview ≈ $100,031 purchasing power in Wichita Falls
  • Rents drives the gap (+1.5 RPP points)

RPP parity plate

Pair TX:TX 89.5→89.5

PHOTO-FINISH · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR

  • PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
  • SAME-STATE Same state · TX
  • SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
  • BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
  • PP-PAR PP near-par

Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.

Longview
89.5
Cost Index
Wichita Falls
89.5
Cost Index

What This Comparison Actually Tells You

Longview, TX and Wichita Falls, TX are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.0 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.

Rents creates the largest separation: Wichita Falls is 1.5 points higher. But goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.

Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.

Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.

For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Longview corresponds to $100,031 in Wichita Falls.

Category Breakdown

Visual Comparison

Overall
Longview
89.5
Wichita Falls
89.5
Goods
Longview
93.8
Wichita Falls
93.8
Services
Longview
83.5
Wichita Falls
84.1
Rents
Longview
66.7
Wichita Falls
68.2

Vertical line = national average (100)

Salary Equivalents

What a salary in Longview would need to be in Wichita Falls for the same purchasing power:

In Longview In Wichita Falls Difference
$50,000 $50,016 +$16
$75,000 $75,023 +$23
$100,000 $100,031 +$31
$150,000 $150,047 +$47
$ in Longview = in Wichita Falls

Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (89.5 → 89.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Wichita Falls more expensive than Longview?

Wichita Falls is 0% more expensive than Longview. The overall cost index is 89.5 vs 89.5 (national average = 100).

What salary in Wichita Falls equals $100K in Longview?

A $100,000 salary in Longview has the same purchasing power as $100,031 in Wichita Falls. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.

How do rents compare between Longview and Wichita Falls?

Rents in Longview are indexed at 66.7 while Wichita Falls is at 68.2 (national average = 100). Wichita Falls has higher rents.

Data sourced from official public datasets, Regional Price Parities (2024), index where national average = 100. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCost. See our methodology for details.

Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.