Metro Life Score
Chico, CA
Bottom-quartile composite Life Score — grade C-, 16th percentile of the national corpus.
- 41.1
- Life Score / 100
- C-
- Grade (curved)
- #327
- of 387 metros
- 16%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Chico is bottom-quartile composite Life Score — #327 of 387 (41.1/100, grade C-, 16th percentile). Carried by schools at 94/100; held back most by childcare at 9/100.
- 16th
- composite percentile
- #327
- of 387 peers
- 16th
- cost dimension percentile
- 72nd
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · signature composite
Chico: bottom-third composite — where the drag concentrates
Chico sits in the bottom third of the metro corpus on composite (#327 of 387, 41.1/100, 16th percentile). Stamps LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG; Childcare at 9/100 is the main drag; Schools (94/100) keeps the floor. Cost/wage marks DEAR/HIGH. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Chico, CA ranks #327 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #324 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 101.2 (rent-RPP 91.9). BLS median salary $69,223, 70,590 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,625/mo (studio $1,155).
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 Chico sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
41 16th percentile higher than 16% 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 41.1 is built
Chico's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Chico 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 Chico With...
Ranking Context
Chico outranks 16% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #324 | New Haven, CT | 41.2 | C- |
| #325 | Columbia, SC | 41.2 | C- |
| #326 | Cleveland, TN | 41.3 | C- |
| #327 | Chico, CA | 41.1 | C- |
| #328 | Boulder, CO | 41.1 | C- |
| #329 | Vineland, NJ | 41.0 | C- |
| #330 | Chattanooga, TN-GA | 40.8 | C- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Chico, CA's quality rank (bottom 16% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 17% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
CA Metro Scores
Read with Chico
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Chico (LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/HIGH), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Boulder, CO
ABS(composite) peer at 41.1 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C- vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/HIGH.
Columbia, SC
ABS(composite) peer at 41.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C- vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/HIGH.
New Haven, CT
ABS(composite) peer at 41.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C- vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/HIGH.
Vineland, NJ
ABS(composite) peer at 41.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C- vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/HIGH.
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 17/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 16/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Chico, CA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/HIGH - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Chico's bottom-third Life Score
Chico scores 41.1/100 overall, but Schools (94.0) and Childcare (8.8) sit 85.2 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Schools is the strongest of Chico'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.