What is the cost of living in Redding?

Redding has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 100.7, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 89.4, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,590/month.

What is the median salary in Redding?

The median salary in Redding is $70,312 annually (mean: $74,244). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers.

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

What are the schools like in Redding?

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 Redding?

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

Is Redding a good place to relocate?

Redding has a Life Score of 43.9/100 (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 below-average score, several dimensions likely pull the composite down; compare specific dimensions to see which ones.

Where does Redding sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Redding ranks #353 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

Redding, CA

LiveAbility 35.3/100 places Redding #353 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

100.7
Cost index (US=100): $1,590
2BR rent / mo: $70,312
Median salary: 35.3
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Redding ranks #353 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (35.3/100), with its strongest marks in climate and job market.

#353
of 387 US metros · 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 (6/100). 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), Redding ranks #353 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 100.7 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,590/mo, median salary $70,312; LiveAbility Score 35.3/100, strongest in climate and job market.

Signature: LiveAbility 35.3/100 places Redding #353 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 100.7 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,590/mo.

LiveAbility 35.3/100 puts Redding in the bottom third (#353 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Redding area is 65,010.

Redding 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)

35 Top 91% higher than 9% 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

Redding housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Redding MSA; housing RPP 89.4 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,590/mo.

Studio

$1,172

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,212

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,590

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,211

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,667

/month

Redding wages and employment

Redding posts 65,010 total employment with median salary $70,312 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$70,312

Mean Salary

$74,244

Total Employment

65,010

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$34,320
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$39,160
Cashiers	$34,900
Retail Salespersons	$36,450
Registered Nurses	$134,350

Schools & Education

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

Infant (Center)

$17,920

per year

Toddler (Center)

$12,300

per year

Preschool (Center)

$11,385

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Redding's composite Life Score is 43.9/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

20/100

Weak

Wages

84/100

Elite

Rent

26/100

Weak

Crime

11/100

Bottom decile

Schools

94/100

Elite

Childcare

6/100

Bottom decile

Environment

76/100

Strong

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Redding ranks #353 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 35.3/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Climate (96/100)

Climate

96
Job market

84
Air quality

46
Housing

26
Cost of living

20
Safety

11
Low hazard

10
Schools

6

What this shows Redding's strongest dimensions are climate and job market; its weakest among scored dims is schools at 6/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Redding to

Greeley Green Bay Greensboro-High Point Greenville-Anderson-Greer Greenville Gulfport-Biloxi

Metros near Redding on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Redding 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

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

Redding runs a $70,312 median salary at a 100.7 cost index, ranking #353 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

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