What is the cost of living in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim?

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 113.6, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 170.4, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $2,601/month.

What is the median salary in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim?

The median salary in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim is $82,276 annually (mean: $86,923). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim?

The violent crime rate in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area is 477 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1986 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim?

The state of CA has 10,006 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 21.5:1. Charter schools make up 12.8% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim?

Infant center-based childcare in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area averages $17,920 per year. Preschool averages $11,385/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim a good place to relocate?

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim has a Life Score of 39.5/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This places Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim in the bottom decile of scored metros; compare individual dimensions to see where the biggest gaps are.

Where does Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim ranks #383 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

BEA RPP 113.6 ranks #385 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

113.6
Cost index (US=100): $2,601
2BR rent / mo: $82,276
Median salary: 24.9
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim ranks #383 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (24.9/100), with its strongest marks in job market and climate.

#383
of 387 US metros · Well below median: 39,431,263
metro-area population: 477
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 10,006
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: air quality (1/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim ranks #383 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 113.6 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $2,601/mo, median salary $82,276; LiveAbility Score 24.9/100, strongest in job market and climate.

Signature: BEA RPP 113.6 ranks #385 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 113.6 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $2,601/mo.

LiveAbility 24.9/100 puts Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim in the bottom third (#383 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area is 6,167,970.

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

25 Top 99% higher than 1% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

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 and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim MSA; housing RPP 170.4 (100 = national average); 2BR $2,601/mo.

Studio

$1,863

/month

1 Bedroom

$2,085

/month

2 Bedroom

$2,601

/month

3 Bedroom

$3,298

/month

4 Bedroom

$3,672

/month

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim wages and employment

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim posts 6,167,970 total employment with median salary $82,276 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$82,276

Mean Salary

$86,923

Total Employment

6,167,970

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$34,320
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$42,110
Retail Salespersons	$37,700
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$42,390
Office Clerks, General	$48,100

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area from NCES.

Schools

10,006

Enrollment

5,787,663

Student:Teacher

21.5:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$17,920

per year

Toddler (Center)

$12,300

per year

Preschool (Center)

$11,385

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim's composite Life Score is 39.5/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

1/100

Bottom decile

Wages

98/100

Elite

Rent

3/100

Bottom decile

Crime

12/100

Bottom decile

Schools

93/100

Elite

Childcare

8/100

Bottom decile

Environment

75/100

Strong

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim ranks #383 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 24.9/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Job market (98/100)

Job market

98
Climate

78
Safety

12
Low hazard

12
Schools

7
Housing

3
Cost of living

1
Air quality

1

What this shows Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim's strongest dimensions are job market and climate; its weakest among scored dims is air quality at 1/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim to

Johnstown Jonesboro Joplin Kahului-Wailuku Kalamazoo-Portage Kankakee

Metros near Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim?

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim runs a $82,276 median salary at a 113.6 cost index, ranking #383 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.