Metro Life Score
Napa, CA
Bottom-quartile composite Life Score — grade D, 6th percentile of the national corpus.
- 38.4
- Life Score / 100
- D
- Grade (curved)
- #364
- of 387 metros
- 6%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Napa is bottom-quartile composite Life Score — #364 of 387 (38.4/100, grade D, 6th percentile). Carried by schools at 96/100; held back most by cost of living at 1/100.
- 6th
- composite percentile
- #364
- of 387 peers
- 1st
- cost dimension percentile
- 91st
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · BOTTOM · RENT-SQUEEZE · signature cost
Napa: cost pressure is the outlier
Napa is a BOTTOM-band metro where cost sits only at the 1st percentile (CEILING) — the clearest outlier vs wages at the 91st and composite #364. Cost of Living (1/100) is the main drag; Schools (96/100) keeps the floor. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Napa, CA ranks #364 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #383 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 112.6 (rent-RPP 197.4). BLS median salary $76,900, 70,260 jobs (Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $2,773/mo (studio $1,912).
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 Napa sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
38 6th percentile higher than 6% 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 38.4 is built
Napa's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Napa 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 Napa With...
Ranking Context
Napa outranks 6% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #361 | Clarksville, TN-KY | 38.5 | D |
| #362 | Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ | 38.7 | D |
| #363 | Springfield, MA | 38.8 | D |
| #364 | Napa, CA | 38.4 | D |
| #365 | Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | 38.2 | D |
| #366 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | 38.2 | D |
| #367 | Salinas, CA | 38.2 | D |
Quality vs. Affordability
Napa, CA's quality rank (bottom 6% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 1% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
CA Metro Scores
Read with Napa
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Napa (BOTTOM · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Clarksville, TN-KY
ABS(composite) peer at 38.5 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade D vs this page's BOTTOM · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN
ABS(composite) peer at 38.2 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade D vs this page's BOTTOM · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA
ABS(composite) peer at 38.2 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade D vs this page's BOTTOM · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
Salinas, CA
ABS(composite) peer at 38.2 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade D vs this page's BOTTOM · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK.
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 1/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 1/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Napa, CA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for BOTTOM · RENT-SQUEEZE · CEILING/PEAK - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Napa's bottom-third Life Score
Napa scores 38.4/100 overall, but Schools (95.9) and Cost of Living (1.0) sit 94.8 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Schools is the strongest of Napa'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
- Cost of Living is the weakest (weighted 20% 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.