Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Kennewick's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Kennewick?
Your $100,000 in Kennewick has the same purchasing power as $102,020 in the average US city. You'd need $2,020 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Kennewick's cost index of 98, sorted by closest match.
Wondering whether you should move to Kennewick? It depends on what you're optimizing for, but the city has real arguments in its favor: rent specifically is reasonable here and washington doesn't tax your paycheck, plus 1 more things worth knowing. The data behind each is below.
Even if other categories track the national average in Kennewick, housing comes in noticeably cheaper. Median rent is about $1,113/mo, and the housing sub-index lands at 94 (US avg = 100). That's where most of the day-to-day affordability difference shows up for newcomers.
Living in Kennewick means no state income tax on your salary — Washington is one of nine states that simply doesn't have one. On a $100k income that's typically thousands of dollars a year that stay in your account instead of going to a state revenue department. (Washington taxes some long-term capital gains over a high threshold, but ordinary wages and salaries are not taxed.)
The average one-way commute in Kennewick is about 21 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
Reasons are pulled from Kennewick's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Kennewick gets a handful of meaningful snow days each year. Winters average about 25°F — cold enough for several inches at a time, warm enough for everything to melt between storms.
Cold but workable. Winter in Kennewick averages about 25°F — colder than the national norm, mild compared to the upper Midwest. A solid coat handles most days; the genuine cold snaps are short.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in Kennewick runs about 81°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Kennewick falls in roughly USDA Zone 8. The zone classification is based on average annual minimum temperatures, so it's the right lookup for whether perennials and trees will overwinter here. Note that this is approximate from our winter-temperature data — check the USDA map for the exact zone before betting an expensive plant on it.
Kennewick is at about 554 feet (169 m) above sea level. High enough to be solidly above any coastal concern, low enough that altitude isn't a factor.
Higher than average. Kennewick reports about 5,172 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the US average of around 3,500. Citywide numbers are often dragged up by a few hotspots; specific neighborhoods can be very safe in cities that don't look great on paper, and vice versa.
Roughly average. Kennewick's cost-of-living index is 98, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Not really — Kennewick is built around the car. Its Walk Score of 13 out of 100 means almost every errand is a drive. Transit Score is 33 out of 100. Living without a car is technically possible but real work; most residents wouldn't try it.
Roughly $68,614 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Kennewick runs about $1,113/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.