Metro Life Score
Vallejo, CA
Bottom-quartile composite Life Score — grade C-, 13th percentile of the national corpus.
- 40.5
- Life Score / 100
- C-
- Grade (curved)
- #338
- of 387 metros
- 13%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Vallejo is bottom-quartile composite Life Score — #338 of 387 (40.5/100, grade C-, 13th percentile). Carried by schools at 99/100; held back most by childcare at 3/100.
- 13th
- composite percentile
- #338
- of 387 peers
- 4th
- cost dimension percentile
- 97th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · signature wages
Vallejo: pay power is the signature
Vallejo stamps LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG with wages at the 97th percentile of the metro corpus (PEAK) — ahead of its cost mark (CEILING, 4th) and composite #338. Schools (99/100) amplifies the lead; Childcare (3/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Vallejo, CA ranks #338 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #370 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 108.5 (rent-RPP 142.0). BLS median salary $81,560, 134,880 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $2,178/mo (studio $1,567).
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 Vallejo sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
41 13th percentile higher than 13% 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 Vallejo 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 Vallejo With...
Ranking Context
Vallejo outranks 13% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #335 | Helena, MT | 40.7 | C- |
| #336 | Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV | 40.7 | C- |
| #337 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area | 40.7 | C- |
| #338 | Vallejo, CA | 40.5 | C- |
| #339 | Modesto, CA | 40.5 | C- |
| #340 | Anchorage, AK | 40.4 | C- |
| #341 | Flagstaff, AZ | 40.3 | C- |
CA Metro Scores
Read with Vallejo
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Vallejo (LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · CEILING/PEAK), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Modesto, CA
ABS(composite) peer at 40.5 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C- vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · CEILING/PEAK.
Anchorage, AK
ABS(composite) peer at 40.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C- vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · CEILING/PEAK.
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area
ABS(composite) peer at 40.7 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C- vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · CEILING/PEAK.
Flagstaff, AZ
ABS(composite) peer at 40.3 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C- vs this page's LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · CEILING/PEAK.
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 5/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 4/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Vallejo, CA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · SCHOOL-STRONG · CEILING/PEAK - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.