What is the cost of living in Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura?

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 110.5, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 171.1, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $2,693/month.

What is the median salary in Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura?

The median salary in Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura is $75,080 annually (mean: $79,355). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura?

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

What are the schools like in Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura?

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 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura?

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

Is Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura a good place to relocate?

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura has a Life Score of 38.3/100 (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 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura in the bottom decile of scored metros; compare individual dimensions to see where the biggest gaps are.

Where does Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura ranks #384 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

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA

LiveAbility 24.7/100 places Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura #384 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

110.5
Cost index (US=100): $2,693
2BR rent / mo: $75,080
Median salary: 24.7
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura ranks #384 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (24.7/100), with its strongest marks in job market and climate.

#384
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: housing (2/100). 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), Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura ranks #384 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 110.5 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $2,693/mo, median salary $75,080; LiveAbility Score 24.7/100, strongest in job market and climate.

Signature: LiveAbility 24.7/100 places Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura #384 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 110.5 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $2,693/mo.

LiveAbility 24.7/100 puts Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura in the bottom third (#384 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura area is 310,050.

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura 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

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA; housing RPP 171.1 (100 = national average); 2BR $2,693/mo.

Studio

$1,998

/month

1 Bedroom

$2,250

/month

2 Bedroom

$2,693

/month

3 Bedroom

$3,652

/month

4 Bedroom

$4,240

/month

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura wages and employment

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura posts 310,050 total employment with median salary $75,080 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$75,080

Mean Salary

$79,355

Total Employment

310,050

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$34,320
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$42,370
Retail Salespersons	$36,880
Cashiers	$36,150
General and Operations Managers	$103,870

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura 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 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$17,920

per year

Toddler (Center)

$12,300

per year

Preschool (Center)

$11,385

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura's composite Life Score is 38.3/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

2/100

Bottom decile

Wages

91/100

Elite

Rent

2/100

Bottom decile

Crime

11/100

Bottom decile

Schools

94/100

Elite

Childcare

6/100

Bottom decile

Environment

76/100

Strong

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura ranks #384 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 24.7/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Job market (91/100)

Job market

91
Climate

64
Air quality

21
Safety

11
Low hazard

11
Schools

6
Cost of living

2
Housing

2

What this shows Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura's strongest dimensions are job market and climate; its weakest among scored dims is housing at 2/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura to

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin Chico Cincinnati Clarksville Cleveland Cleveland

Metros near Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura 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

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura 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 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura?

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura runs a $75,080 median salary at a 110.5 cost index, ranking #384 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

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