Metro Life Score

Stockton-Lodi, CA

Compiled byPlainCompare Editorial, PlainCompare Editorial Team · Updated May 16, 2026

41.3
Life Score / 100: C-
Grade (curved): #312
of 387 metros: 19%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Stockton ranks #312 of 387 US metros, ahead of 19% - carried by its schools (97/100) and held back most by childcare (3/100).

97
strongest: Schools: 88
then: Environment: 3
weakest: Childcare: 7
weighted dimensions

Where Stockton sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

41 19th percentile higher than 19% 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 · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Stockton Life Score

Stockton's composite score of 41.3 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #312 of 387, ahead of 19% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Schools (97/100) and Environment (88/100), which pull the composite upward, while Childcare (3/100) and Cost of Living (8/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 105.1 (rent-RPP 115.6). BLS median salary $71,848, 263,900 jobs (Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,742/mo (studio $1,288).

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 #309-#315 below.

Dimension detail

How Stockton scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 8/100 (20%)

Wages 85/100 (20%)

Rent 18/100 (15%)

Safety 8/100 (15%)

Schools 97/100 (10%)

Childcare 3/100 (10%)

Environment 88/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

105.1

Cost Index (RPP)

$71,848

Avg Median Salary

$1,742

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)

263,900

Total Employment

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

Compare Stockton With...

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

Ranking Context

Stockton outranks 19% of U.S. metros.

Rank	Metro	Score	Grade
#309	Carson City, NV	41.4	C-
#310	Bend, OR	41.4	C-
#311	Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL	41.7	C
#312	Stockton-Lodi, CA	41.3	C-
#313	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	41.0	C-
#314	Eugene-Springfield, OR	40.9	C-
#315	Lancaster, PA	40.8	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 Stockton's Life Score

Stockton 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 childcare (3/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
Put Stockton head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
See where Stockton 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 Stockton's biggest strengths? ▼

Stockton's strongest dimensions are Schools (97/100), Environment (88/100), Wages (85/100). Schools is top-tier nationally.

What are Stockton's weakest areas? ▼

Stockton's lowest-scoring dimensions are Childcare (3/100), Cost of Living (8/100), Safety (8/100). Childcare weighs heavily on the composite.

How expensive is Stockton compared to the national average? ▼

Stockton's Regional Price Parity is 105.1 (5.1% more than national); rent RPP 115.6.

What is the average salary in Stockton? ▼

Stockton median salary: $71,848, 263,900 jobs. Top: Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers.

How is the life score calculated? ▼

Stockton's 41.3/100 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.

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

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.