What is the cost of living in Merced?

Merced has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 98.3, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 78.6, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,503/month.

What is the median salary in Merced?

The median salary in Merced is $68,749 annually (mean: $72,780). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse, Fast Food and Counter Workers.

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

What are the schools like in Merced?

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 Merced?

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

Is Merced a good place to relocate?

Merced has a Life Score of 44.5/100 (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 is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Merced sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Merced ranks #370 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

Merced, CA

LiveAbility 29.6/100 places Merced #370 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

98.3
Cost index (US=100): $1,503
2BR rent / mo: $68,749
Median salary: 29.6
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Merced ranks #370 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (29.6/100), with its strongest marks in job market and climate.

#370
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: schools (7/100). 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), Merced ranks #370 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 98.3 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,503/mo, median salary $68,749; LiveAbility Score 29.6/100, strongest in job market and climate.

Signature: LiveAbility 29.6/100 places Merced #370 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 98.3 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,503/mo.

LiveAbility 29.6/100 puts Merced in the bottom third (#370 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Merced area is 72,870.

Merced 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)

30 Top 96% higher than 4% 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

Merced housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Merced MSA; housing RPP 78.6 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,503/mo.

Studio

$1,116

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,213

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,503

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,067

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,503

/month

Merced wages and employment

Merced posts 72,870 total employment with median salary $68,749 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$68,749

Mean Salary

$72,780

Total Employment

72,870

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$34,320
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse	$36,350
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$38,200
Cashiers	$35,340
Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary	$44,680

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Merced 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 Merced area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$17,920

per year

Toddler (Center)

$12,300

per year

Preschool (Center)

$11,385

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Merced's composite Life Score is 44.5/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

27/100

Weak

Wages

75/100

Strong

Rent

31/100

Weak

Crime

12/100

Bottom decile

Schools

93/100

Elite

Childcare

7/100

Bottom decile

Environment

75/100

Strong

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Merced ranks #370 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 29.6/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Job market (75/100)

Job market

75
Climate

50
Housing

31
Cost of living

28
Air quality

14
Safety

12
Low hazard

11
Schools

7

What this shows Merced's strongest dimensions are job market and climate; its weakest among scored dims is schools at 7/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Merced to

Salinas Salisbury Salt Lake City-Murray San Angelo San Antonio-New Braunfels San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad

Metros near Merced on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Merced 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

Merced cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Merced 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 Merced?

Merced runs a $68,749 median salary at a 98.3 cost index, ranking #370 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Merced's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Merced head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Merced
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.