PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA

39.6
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#333
of 387 metros
14%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Santa Rosa ranks #333 of 387 US metros, ahead of 14% - carried by its schools (97/100) and held back most by rent (2/100).

97
strongest: Schools
95
then: Wages
2
weakest: Rent
7
weighted dimensions

Where Santa Rosa sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

40 14th percentile higher than 14% 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 Santa Rosa Life Score

Santa Rosa's composite score of 39.6 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #333 of 387, ahead of 14% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Schools (97/100) and Wages (95/100), which pull the composite upward, while Rent (2/100) and Childcare (3/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 107.8 (rent-RPP 139.6). BLS median salary $80,131, 195,580 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $2,827/mo (studio $1,949).

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 #330-#336 below.

Dimension detail

How Santa Rosa scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 5/100 (20%)
Wages 95/100 (20%)
Rent 2/100 (15%)
Safety 8/100 (15%)
Schools 97/100 (10%)
Childcare 3/100 (10%)
Environment 81/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

107.8
Cost Index (RPP)
$80,131
Avg Median Salary
$2,827
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)
195,580
Total Employment

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

Compare Santa Rosa With...

Santa Rosa vs El Centro Compare → Santa Rosa vs Visalia Compare → Santa Rosa vs Redding Compare → Santa Rosa vs Wildwood Compare → Santa Rosa vs Waterloo Compare → Santa Rosa vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Santa Rosa outranks 14% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#330 Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 39.7 C-
#331 Manchester-Nashua, NH 39.8 C-
#332 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 39.8 C-
#333 Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA 39.6 C-
#334 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 39.6 C-
#335 Clarksville, TN-KY 39.6 C-
#336 Hanford-Corcoran, CA 39.6 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 Santa Rosa's Life Score

Santa Rosa 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 (97/100) and its weakest is rent (2/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Santa Rosa head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Santa Rosa 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 Santa Rosa's biggest strengths? ▼
Santa Rosa's strongest dimensions are Schools (97/100), Wages (95/100), Environment (81/100). Schools is top-tier nationally.
What are Santa Rosa's weakest areas? ▼
Santa Rosa's lowest-scoring dimensions are Rent (2/100), Childcare (3/100), Cost of Living (5/100). Rent weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Santa Rosa compared to the national average? ▼
Santa Rosa's Regional Price Parity is 107.8 (7.8% more than national); rent RPP 139.6.
What is the average salary in Santa Rosa? ▼
Santa Rosa median salary: $80,131, 195,580 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Santa Rosa's 39.6/100 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.