PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Vallejo, CA

41.9
Life Score / 100
C
Grade (curved)
#307
of 387 metros
21%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Vallejo ranks #307 of 387 US metros, ahead of 21% - carried by its wages (99/100) and held back most by childcare (3/100).

99
strongest: Wages
97
then: Schools
3
weakest: Childcare
7
weighted dimensions

Where Vallejo sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

42 21th percentile higher than 21% 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%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Vallejo Life Score

Vallejo's composite score of 41.9 out of 100, a grade of C, places the metro at rank #307 of 387, ahead of 21% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (99/100) and Schools (97/100), which pull the composite upward, while Childcare (3/100) and Cost of Living (4/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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). Ranks #304-#310 below.

Dimension detail

How Vallejo scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 4/100 (20%)
Wages 99/100 (20%)
Rent 6/100 (15%)
Safety 8/100 (15%)
Schools 97/100 (10%)
Childcare 3/100 (10%)
Environment 93/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

108.5
Cost Index (RPP)
$81,560
Avg Median Salary
$2,178
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)
134,880
Total Employment

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

Compare Vallejo With...

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

Ranking Context

Vallejo outranks 21% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#304 Worcester, MA 42.1 C
#305 Abilene, TX 42.1 C
#306 Rochester, NY 42.3 C
#307 Vallejo, CA 41.9 C
#308 Bangor, ME 41.9 C
#309 Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC 41.9 C
#310 Hinesville, GA 41.9 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 Stockton-Lodi, CA C- 41.3

Using Vallejo's Life Score

Vallejo 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 (99/100) and its weakest is childcare (3/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Vallejo head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Vallejo 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 Vallejo's biggest strengths? ▼
Vallejo's strongest dimensions are Wages (99/100), Schools (97/100), Environment (93/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Vallejo's weakest areas? ▼
Vallejo's lowest-scoring dimensions are Childcare (3/100), Cost of Living (4/100), Rent (6/100). Childcare weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Vallejo compared to the national average? ▼
Vallejo's Regional Price Parity is 108.5 (8.5% more than national); rent RPP 142.0.
What is the average salary in Vallejo? ▼
Vallejo median salary: $81,560, 134,880 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Vallejo's 41.9/100 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.