PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA

39.0
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#341
of 387 metros
12%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

San Diego ranks #341 of 387 US metros, ahead of 12% - carried by its wages (96/100) and held back most by rent (1/100).

96
strongest: Wages
95
then: Schools
1
weakest: Rent
7
weighted dimensions

Where San Diego sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

39 12th percentile higher than 12% 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 San Diego Life Score

San Diego's composite score of 39.0 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #341 of 387, ahead of 12% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (96/100) and Schools (95/100), which pull the composite upward, while Rent (1/100) and Cost of Living (1/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 111.9 (rent-RPP 179.3). BLS median salary $81,730, 1,508,190 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $3,001/mo (studio $2,288).

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 #338-#344 below.

Dimension detail

How San Diego scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 1/100 (20%)
Wages 96/100 (20%)
Rent 1/100 (15%)
Safety 10/100 (15%)
Schools 95/100 (10%)
Childcare 5/100 (10%)
Environment 79/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

111.9
Cost Index (RPP)
$81,730
Avg Median Salary
$3,001
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)
1,508,190
Total Employment

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

Compare San Diego With...

San Diego vs El Centro Compare → San Diego vs Visalia Compare → San Diego vs Redding Compare → San Diego vs Wildwood Compare → San Diego vs Waterloo Compare → San Diego vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

San Diego outranks 12% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#338 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 39.1 C-
#339 Chattanooga, TN-GA 39.3 C-
#340 Burlington-South Burlington, VT 39.3 C-
#341 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA 39.0 C-
#342 Glens Falls, NY 39.0 C-
#343 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA 38.9 C-
#344 Bakersfield-Delano, CA 38.8 C-

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 San Diego's Life Score

San Diego 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 (96/100) and its weakest is rent (1/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put San Diego head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where San Diego 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 San Diego's biggest strengths? ▼
San Diego's strongest dimensions are Wages (96/100), Schools (95/100), Environment (79/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are San Diego's weakest areas? ▼
San Diego's lowest-scoring dimensions are Rent (1/100), Cost of Living (1/100), Childcare (5/100). Rent weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is San Diego compared to the national average? ▼
San Diego's Regional Price Parity is 111.9 (11.9% more than national); rent RPP 179.3.
What is the average salary in San Diego? ▼
San Diego median salary: $81,730, 1,508,190 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
San Diego's 39.0/100 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.