Metro Life Score
Bakersfield-Delano, CA
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C+, 33rd percentile of the national corpus.
- 45.7
- Life Score / 100
- C+
- Grade (curved)
- #260
- of 387 metros
- 33%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Bakersfield-Delano is below-median composite Life Score — #260 of 387 (45.7/100, grade C+, 33rd percentile). Carried by schools at 94/100; held back most by childcare at 9/100.
- 33rd
- composite percentile
- #260
- of 387 peers
- 18th
- cost dimension percentile
- 88th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · signature wages
Bakersfield-Delano: pay power is the signature
Bakersfield-Delano stamps LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG with wages at the 88th percentile of the metro corpus (PEAK) — ahead of its cost mark (DEAR, 18th) and composite #260. Schools (94/100) amplifies the lead; Childcare (9/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Bakersfield-Delano, CA ranks #260 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #317 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 100.9 (rent-RPP 90.3). BLS median salary $74,397, 328,670 jobs (Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,483/mo (studio $1,132).
FBI UCR (CA): 477 violent, 1986 property/100K. NCES: 20.8:1 ratio, 12.8% charter. DOL infant childcare $17,920/yr. EPA: 116 Superfund sites (CA).
Where Bakersfield-Delano sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
46 33rd percentile higher than 33% of 387 US metros
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, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
How the 45.7 is built
Bakersfield-Delano's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Bakersfield-Delano scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are CA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Bakersfield-Delano With...
Ranking Context
Bakersfield-Delano outranks 33% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #257 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 45.8 | C+ |
| #258 | Wilmington, NC | 45.9 | C+ |
| #259 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 45.9 | C+ |
| #260 | Bakersfield-Delano, CA | 45.7 | C+ |
| #261 | Morristown, TN | 45.7 | C+ |
| #262 | Spartanburg, SC | 45.7 | C+ |
| #263 | Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 45.5 | C+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Bakersfield-Delano, CA's quality rank (bottom 33% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 18% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
CA Metro Scores
Read with Bakersfield-Delano
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Bakersfield-Delano (LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/PEAK), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Morristown, TN
ABS(composite) peer at 45.7 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/PEAK.
Spartanburg, SC
ABS(composite) peer at 45.7 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/PEAK.
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 45.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/PEAK.
Grand Junction, CO
ABS(composite) peer at 45.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/PEAK.
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 18/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Ann Arbor, MI (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 18/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Bakersfield-Delano, CA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/PEAK - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Bakersfield-Delano's bottom-third Life Score
Bakersfield-Delano scores 45.7/100 overall, but Schools (93.8) and Childcare (9.1) sit 84.7 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Schools is the strongest of Bakersfield-Delano's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Childcare is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- El Centro is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with El Centro
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.