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Place dossier plate
SheetWA-LONGVIEW-WA · Longview, WA 37,836 pop · income 37th pct · 30 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Longview
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Longview on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Winchester · lowest
49,190
Winchester · lowest
49,190 median HH income
32.0% of the leader · rank #1
Bon Secour · near
60,833
Bon Secour · near
60,833 median HH income
39.6% of the leader · rank #2
Franklin Grove · near
60,833
Franklin Grove · near
60,833 median HH income
39.6% of the leader · rank #3
Longview · this city
60,844
Longview · this city
60,844 median HH income
39.6% of the leader · rank #4
Margate · near
60,852
Margate · near
60,852 median HH income
39.6% of the leader · rank #5
Hialeah Garde… · near
60,855
Hialeah Garde… · near
60,855 median HH income
39.6% of the leader · rank #6
Issaquah · highest
153,786
Issaquah · highest
153,786 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Longview on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 37,836.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Longview - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Longview lands in the 37th percentile for household income and the 12th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
37th
percentile, household income
70th
percentile, home value
70th
percentile, median rent
12th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Longview, WA
37,836 people live in Longview, Washington - a small city by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Longview households earn a median of $60,844 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 10.2%. Longview's housing stock carries a median value of $339,000, and the median resident age is 39.1 years. Educational attainment runs 16.7% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 53.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 93 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 90% from five years earlier. Longview's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 3391.8 in FBI UCR data, above the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 53.2°F with 48.1 inches of precipitation per year.
Washington carries a cost-of-living premium: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Washington scores 107.0 (Above Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,472 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $188 across Washington, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. The average commute for Longview workers runs 23.7 minutes, with 81.0% driving alone and 5.9% working from home. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 70.0 out of 100 (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Longview's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from climate and hazard context to work and mobility to reported crime to comparison shortlist to schools and households to housing and income to population change to within-city variation; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Longview, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, commute-mode shares, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What physical conditions frame life in Longview?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 53.2°F, with 48.1 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Washington is 70.0 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
What does the journey to work look like in Longview?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 81.0%. The reported mean trip to work is 23.7 minutes.
Which cities make useful reference points for Longview?
Within Washington, the closest population matches are Parkland (39,174 residents, $71,829 income); Issaquah (39,472 residents, $153,786 income); Lake Stevens (39,500 residents, $118,290 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Tupelo, MS (37,825 residents); Montclair, CA (37,809 residents); Hilton Head Island, SC (37,805 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
PlainCities matches 30 Census tracts to this city.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Longview?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 3391.8 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 49% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
3175.7
Violent rate
216.1
Total reported rate
3391.8
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
The NCES join finds 20 public schools within the city match. 16.7% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
20
Bachelor's degree+
16.7%
Poverty estimate
10.2%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
How far does income reach against housing in Longview?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 10.2%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
Household income
$60,844
Home value
$339,000
Value / income
5.6×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Is Longview growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +495 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 93 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
+1.3%
2025 estimate
38,362
2020 estimate
37,867
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Below median income · poverty 10.2% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
107.0 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, Washington average
F
City profile score · Longview, WA
33/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Violent crime D
216 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate F
10.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$60,844
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
16.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Cost of living F
107.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Longview profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 45/100 (D) · 216 /100k
Poverty rate: 39/100 (F) · 10.2%
Household income: 36/100 (F) · $60,844
Bachelor's+ share: 25/100 (F) · 16.7%
Cost of living: 15/100 (F) · 107.0 index
Where Longview sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Longview's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Longview highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
Longview, WA (this city): home $339,000, crime 3,392/100k
Tupelo, MS : home $201,300, crime 4,168/100k
Montclair, CA : home $549,600, crime 4,290/100k
Lewiston, ME : home $214,200, crime 1,774/100k
Rome, GA : home $214,700, crime 3,976/100k
Lake Stevens, WA : home $593,900, crime 766/100k
Wenatchee, WA : home $391,200, crime 3,023/100k
Mount Vernon, WA : home $429,300, crime 1,966/100k
How does Longview compare to other US cities?
Longview measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income37% higher than other cities
Home value70% pricier than other cities
Median rent70% pricier than other cities
Safety12% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Washington alone, Longview ranks #125 of 156 Washington cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Longview against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Washington only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Washington-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Longview near the bottom of Washington's cities
Among the 599 Washington cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Longview ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Longview only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#438 of 565
22nd percentile in Washington
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 599
0th percentile in Washington
Median Home Value
#355 of 565
37th percentile in Washington
Poverty Rate
#150 of 598
74th percentile in Washington
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#457 of 599
23rd percentile in Washington
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Washington only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
37th percentile nationally for median household income · 12th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Longview's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Longview's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Longview's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$339,00030th percentilemore affordable than 30% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Longview's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,669 of 15,516
More affordable than 12% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,840 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 5.6×, Longview sits in the pressured band:
national rank #13,669 of 15,516 and #2,840 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$60,844Longview, WA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Longview, WA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Longview, WA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)16.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)10.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)53.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
37,836
Median Income
$60,844
Median Home Value
$339,000
Median Age
39.1
Poverty Rate
10.2%
Labor force participation
53.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
16.7%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3391.8
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
216.1
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
3175.7
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
53.2°F
Annual Precipitation
48.1"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
20
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Longview's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
37,867 residents
2021
37,968 residents
2022
38,010 residents
2023
38,111 residents
2024
38,214 residents
2025
38,362 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
93
housing units authorized
Single-Family
53
detached homes
Multifamily
40
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
2.5
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
49
15
34
$6.1M
2020
17
13
4
$3.7M
2021
68
10
58
$7.3M
2022
141
65
76
$27.0M
2023
30
26
4
$7.4M
2024
93
53
40
$14.5M
Permit volume increased 90% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
23.7 minutes
Drive Alone
81.0%
Carpool
9.0%
Public Transit
1.0%
Walk
1.4%
Work from Home
5.9%
Other
1.7%
Based on 15,735 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Washington statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $188
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Washington at $188 (electricity about $85 , water and sewer about $55 ).
These are Washington statewide averages, not a meter reading for Longview. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Washington's BEA cost-of-living index is 107.0 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Longview is $1,472/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Washington statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 70.0 / 100 (High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Washington statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Longview sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Longview compares to similar-size Washington cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.