PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Napa, CA

37.6
Life Score / 100
D
Grade (curved)
#356
of 387 metros
8%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Napa ranks #356 of 387 US metros, ahead of 8% - carried by its wages (95/100) and held back most by cost of living (1/100).

95
strongest: Wages
94
then: Schools
1
weakest: Cost of Living
7
weighted dimensions

Where Napa sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

38 8th percentile higher than 8% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). This entry sits in this band. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

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 · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Napa Life Score

Napa's composite score of 37.6 out of 100, a grade of D, places the metro at rank #356 of 387, ahead of 8% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (95/100) and Schools (94/100), which pull the composite upward, while Cost of Living (1/100) and Rent (2/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 21.5:1 ratio, 12.8% charter. DOL infant childcare $17,920/yr. EPA: 116 Superfund sites (CA). Ranks #353-#359 below.

Dimension detail

How Napa scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 1/100 (20%)
Wages 95/100 (20%)
Rent 2/100 (15%)
Safety 11/100 (15%)
Schools 94/100 (10%)
Childcare 7/100 (10%)
Environment 63/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

112.6
Cost Index (RPP)
$76,900
Avg Median Salary
$2,773
2BR Fair Market Rent
477
Violent Crime/100K (CA)
21.5:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$17,920
Infant Childcare/yr (CA)
116
Superfund Sites (CA)
70,260
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Napa With...

Napa vs El Centro Compare → Napa vs Visalia Compare → Napa vs Redding Compare → Napa vs Wildwood Compare → Napa vs Waterloo Compare → Napa vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Napa outranks 8% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#353 Lexington Park, MD 37.7 D
#354 Kahului-Wailuku, HI 37.7 D
#355 Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area 37.7 D
#356 Napa, CA 37.6 D
#357 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 37.5 D
#358 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 37.4 D
#359 Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ 37.3 D

CA Metro Scores

El Centro, CA C+ 46.7 Visalia, CA C 45.2 Redding, CA C 43.7 Yuba City, CA C 43.3 Merced, CA C 42.8 Vallejo, CA C 41.9

Using Napa's Life Score

Napa is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is wages (95/100) and its weakest is cost of living (1/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Napa head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Napa lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Napa's biggest strengths? ▼
Napa's strongest dimensions are Wages (95/100), Schools (94/100), Environment (63/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Napa's weakest areas? ▼
Napa's lowest-scoring dimensions are Cost of Living (1/100), Rent (2/100), Childcare (7/100). Cost of Living weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Napa compared to the national average? ▼
Napa's Regional Price Parity is 112.6 (12.6% more than national); rent RPP 197.4.
What is the average salary in Napa? ▼
Napa median salary: $76,900, 70,260 jobs. Top: Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Napa's 37.6/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.