Metro Life Score
Redding, CA
Bottom-quartile composite Life Score — grade C-, 20th percentile of the national corpus.
- 42.5
- Life Score / 100
- C-
- Grade (curved)
- #311
- of 387 metros
- 20%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Redding is bottom-quartile composite Life Score — #311 of 387 (42.5/100, grade C-, 20th percentile). Carried by schools at 96/100; held back most by childcare at 6/100.
- 20th
- composite percentile
- #311
- of 387 peers
- 20th
- cost dimension percentile
- 76th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · signature composite
Redding: bottom-third composite — where the drag concentrates
Redding sits in the bottom third of the metro corpus on composite (#311 of 387, 42.5/100, 20th percentile). Stamps LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG; Childcare at 6/100 is the main drag; Schools (96/100) keeps the floor. Cost/wage marks DEAR/HIGH. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Redding, CA ranks #311 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #311 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 100.7 (rent-RPP 89.4). BLS median salary $70,312, 65,010 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,590/mo (studio $1,172).
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).
Where Redding sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
43 20th percentile higher than 20% 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
Dimension detail
How Redding 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 Redding With...
Ranking Context
Redding outranks 20% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #308 | Glens Falls, NY | 42.6 | C |
| #309 | Billings, MT | 42.7 | C |
| #310 | Waterbury-Shelton, CT | 43.0 | C |
| #311 | Redding, CA | 42.5 | C- |
| #312 | Colorado Springs, CO | 42.5 | C |
| #313 | Gainesville, GA | 42.5 | C |
| #314 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | 42.5 | C |
CA Metro Scores
Read with Redding
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Redding (LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/HIGH), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Colorado Springs, CO
ABS(composite) peer at 42.5 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/HIGH.
Gainesville, GA
ABS(composite) peer at 42.5 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/HIGH.
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT
ABS(composite) peer at 42.5 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/HIGH.
Manchester-Nashua, NH
ABS(composite) peer at 42.5 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C- vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/HIGH.
Punta Gorda, FL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 20/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Kingston, NY (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 19/100 (Δ 1); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Redding, CA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · DEAR/HIGH - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.