Metro Life Score
Merced, CA
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C, 25th percentile of the national corpus.
- 44.0
- Life Score / 100
- C
- Grade (curved)
- #291
- of 387 metros
- 25%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Merced is below-median composite Life Score — #291 of 387 (44.0/100, grade C, 25th percentile). Carried by schools at 95/100; held back most by childcare at 7/100.
- 25th
- composite percentile
- #291
- of 387 peers
- 27th
- cost dimension percentile
- 71st
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · signature composite
Merced: bottom-third composite — where the drag concentrates
Merced sits in the bottom third of the metro corpus on composite (#291 of 387, 44.0/100, 25th percentile). Stamps LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG; Childcare at 7/100 is the main drag; Schools (95/100) keeps the floor. Cost/wage marks DEAR/HIGH. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Merced, CA ranks #291 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #281 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 98.3 (rent-RPP 78.6). BLS median salary $68,749, 72,870 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,503/mo (studio $1,116).
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 Merced sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
44 25th percentile higher than 25% 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 44.0 is built
Merced's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Merced 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 Merced With...
Ranking Context
Merced outranks 25% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #288 | St. George, UT | 44.2 | C |
| #289 | Lebanon, PA | 44.4 | C |
| #290 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | 44.4 | C |
| #291 | Merced, CA | 44.0 | C |
| #292 | North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL | 44.0 | C |
| #293 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 43.9 | C |
| #294 | Salisbury, MD | 43.9 | C |
Quality vs. Affordability
Merced, CA's quality rank (bottom 25% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 28% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
CA Metro Scores
Read with Merced
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Merced (LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/HIGH), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 44.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/HIGH.
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
ABS(composite) peer at 43.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/HIGH.
Salisbury, MD
ABS(composite) peer at 43.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/HIGH.
Ann Arbor, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 43.8 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/HIGH.
Lancaster, PA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 28/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Coeur d'Alene, ID (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 27/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Merced, CA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/HIGH - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Merced's bottom-third Life Score
Merced scores 44.0/100 overall, but Schools (95.3) and Childcare (7.4) sit 88.0 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Schools is the strongest of Merced'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.