Metro Life Score
Fresno, CA
Bottom-quartile composite Life Score — grade C, 22nd percentile of the national corpus.
- 43.2
- Life Score / 100
- C
- Grade (curved)
- #302
- of 387 metros
- 22%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Fresno is bottom-quartile composite Life Score — #302 of 387 (43.2/100, grade C, 22nd percentile). Carried by schools at 95/100; held back most by childcare at 8/100.
- 22nd
- composite percentile
- #302
- of 387 peers
- 14th
- cost dimension percentile
- 86th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · signature cost
Fresno: cost pressure is the outlier
Fresno is a LOWER-band metro where cost sits only at the 14th percentile (CEILING) — the clearest outlier vs wages at the 86th and composite #302. Childcare (8/100) is the main drag; Schools (95/100) keeps the floor. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Fresno, CA ranks #302 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #332 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 102.2 (rent-RPP 95.7). BLS median salary $73,531, 469,260 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,664/mo (studio $1,347).
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 Fresno sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
43 22nd percentile higher than 22% 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 43.2 is built
Fresno's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Fresno 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 Fresno With...
Ranking Context
Fresno outranks 22% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #299 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | 43.5 | C |
| #300 | Kenosha, WI | 43.5 | C |
| #301 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 43.6 | C |
| #302 | Fresno, CA | 43.2 | C |
| #303 | Albuquerque, NM | 43.2 | C |
| #304 | Visalia, CA | 43.2 | C |
| #305 | Waterbury-Shelton, CT | 43.0 | C |
Quality vs. Affordability
Fresno, CA's quality rank (bottom 22% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 14% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
CA Metro Scores
Read with Fresno
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Fresno (LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · CEILING/PEAK), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Albuquerque, NM
ABS(composite) peer at 43.2 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · CEILING/PEAK.
Visalia, CA
ABS(composite) peer at 43.2 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · CEILING/PEAK.
Waterbury-Shelton, CT
ABS(composite) peer at 43.0 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · CEILING/PEAK.
Kenosha, WI
ABS(composite) peer at 43.5 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · CEILING/PEAK.
Albany, OR (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 15/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 14/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Fresno, CA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · CEILING/PEAK - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Fresno's bottom-third Life Score
Fresno scores 43.2/100 overall, but Schools (94.6) and Childcare (8.2) sit 86.3 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Schools is the strongest of Fresno'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.