PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA

37.5
Life Score / 100
D
Grade (curved)
#357
of 387 metros
8%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Oxnard ranks #357 of 387 US metros, ahead of 8% - carried by its schools (94/100) and held back most by rent (2/100).

94
strongest: Schools
91
then: Wages
2
weakest: Rent
7
weighted dimensions

Where Oxnard 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 Oxnard Life Score

Oxnard's composite score of 37.5 out of 100, a grade of D, places the metro at rank #357 of 387, ahead of 8% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Schools (94/100) and Wages (91/100), which pull the composite upward, while Rent (2/100) and Cost of Living (2/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 110.5 (rent-RPP 171.1). BLS median salary $75,080, 310,050 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $2,693/mo (studio $1,998).

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 #354-#360 below.

Dimension detail

How Oxnard scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 2/100 (20%)
Wages 91/100 (20%)
Rent 2/100 (15%)
Safety 11/100 (15%)
Schools 94/100 (10%)
Childcare 6/100 (10%)
Environment 68/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

110.5
Cost Index (RPP)
$75,080
Avg Median Salary
$2,693
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)
310,050
Total Employment

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

Compare Oxnard With...

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

Ranking Context

Oxnard outranks 8% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#354 Napa, CA 37.6 D
#355 Lexington Park, MD 37.7 D
#356 Kahului-Wailuku, HI 37.7 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
#360 Greeley, CO 37.2 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 Oxnard's Life Score

Oxnard 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 schools (94/100) and its weakest is rent (2/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Oxnard head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Oxnard 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 Oxnard's biggest strengths? ▼
Oxnard's strongest dimensions are Schools (94/100), Wages (91/100), Environment (68/100). Schools is top-tier nationally.
What are Oxnard's weakest areas? ▼
Oxnard's lowest-scoring dimensions are Rent (2/100), Cost of Living (2/100), Childcare (6/100). Rent weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Oxnard compared to the national average? ▼
Oxnard's Regional Price Parity is 110.5 (10.5% more than national); rent RPP 171.1.
What is the average salary in Oxnard? ▼
Oxnard median salary: $75,080, 310,050 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Oxnard's 37.5/100 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.