Metro Life Score
Stockton-Lodi, CA
Bottom-quartile composite Life Score — grade C-, 10th percentile of the national corpus.
- 39.9
- Life Score / 100
- C-
- Grade (curved)
- #347
- of 387 metros
- 10%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Stockton-Lodi is bottom-quartile composite Life Score — #347 of 387 (39.9/100, grade C-, 10th percentile). Carried by schools at 99/100; held back most by childcare at 3/100.
- 10th
- composite percentile
- #347
- of 387 peers
- 7th
- cost dimension percentile
- 81st
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · BOTTOM · SCHOOL-STRONG · signature cost
Stockton-Lodi: cost pressure is the outlier
Stockton-Lodi is a BOTTOM-band metro where cost sits only at the 7th percentile (CEILING) — the clearest outlier vs wages at the 81st and composite #347. Childcare (3/100) is the main drag; Schools (99/100) keeps the floor. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Stockton-Lodi, CA ranks #347 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #358 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
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: 20.8:1 ratio, 12.8% charter. DOL infant childcare $17,920/yr. EPA: 116 Superfund sites (CA).
Where Stockton-Lodi sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
40 10th percentile higher than 10% 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
How the 39.9 is built
Stockton-Lodi's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Stockton-Lodi 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 Stockton-Lodi With...
Ranking Context
Stockton-Lodi outranks 10% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #344 | Knoxville, TN | 40.0 | C- |
| #345 | Gettysburg, PA | 40.0 | C- |
| #346 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 40.0 | C- |
| #347 | Stockton-Lodi, CA | 39.9 | C- |
| #348 | Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 39.9 | C- |
| #349 | Sumter, SC | 39.9 | C- |
| #350 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 39.8 | D |
Quality vs. Affordability
Stockton-Lodi, CA's quality rank (bottom 11% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 8% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
CA Metro Scores
Read with Stockton-Lodi
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Stockton-Lodi (BOTTOM · SCHOOL-STRONG · CEILING/HIGH), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
ABS(composite) peer at 39.9 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C- vs this page's BOTTOM · SCHOOL-STRONG · CEILING/HIGH.
Sumter, SC
ABS(composite) peer at 39.9 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C- vs this page's BOTTOM · SCHOOL-STRONG · CEILING/HIGH.
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO
ABS(composite) peer at 40.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C- vs this page's BOTTOM · SCHOOL-STRONG · CEILING/HIGH.
Gettysburg, PA
ABS(composite) peer at 40.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C- vs this page's BOTTOM · SCHOOL-STRONG · CEILING/HIGH.
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 8/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Boulder, CO (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 7/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Stockton-Lodi, CA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for BOTTOM · SCHOOL-STRONG · CEILING/HIGH - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Stockton-Lodi's bottom-third Life Score
Stockton-Lodi scores 39.9/100 overall, but Schools (99.2) and Childcare (2.9) sit 96.3 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Schools is the strongest of Stockton-Lodi's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Childcare is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- El Centro is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with El Centro
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.