What is the cost of living in Stockton-Lodi?

Stockton-Lodi has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 105.1, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 115.6, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,742/month.

What is the median salary in Stockton-Lodi?

The median salary in Stockton-Lodi is $71,848 annually (mean: $75,776). Top occupations include Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers.

How safe is Stockton-Lodi?

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

What are the schools like in Stockton-Lodi?

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 Stockton-Lodi?

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

Is Stockton-Lodi a good place to relocate?

Stockton-Lodi has a Life Score of 40.4/100 (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 Stockton-Lodi sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Stockton-Lodi ranks #379 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

Stockton-Lodi, CA

LiveAbility 25.9/100 places Stockton-Lodi #379 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

105.1
Cost index (US=100): $1,742
2BR rent / mo: $71,848
Median salary: 25.9
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Stockton-Lodi ranks #379 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (25.9/100), with its strongest marks in job market and climate.

#379
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 (3/100). 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), Stockton-Lodi ranks #379 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 105.1 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,742/mo, median salary $71,848; LiveAbility Score 25.9/100, strongest in job market and climate.

Signature: LiveAbility 25.9/100 places Stockton-Lodi #379 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 105.1 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,742/mo.

LiveAbility 25.9/100 puts Stockton-Lodi in the bottom third (#379 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Stockton-Lodi area is 263,900.

Stockton-Lodi 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)

26 Top 98% higher than 2% 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

Stockton-Lodi housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Stockton-Lodi MSA; housing RPP 115.6 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,742/mo.

Studio

$1,288

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,395

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,742

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,423

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,922

/month

Stockton-Lodi wages and employment

Stockton-Lodi posts 263,900 total employment with median salary $71,848 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$71,848

Mean Salary

$75,776

Total Employment

263,900

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$47,330
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$34,320
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	$60,470
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$41,740
Cashiers	$36,340

Schools & Education

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

Infant (Center)

$17,920

per year

Toddler (Center)

$12,300

per year

Preschool (Center)

$11,385

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Stockton-Lodi's composite Life Score is 40.4/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

8/100

Bottom decile

Wages

85/100

Elite

Rent

18/100

Bottom decile

Crime

8/100

Bottom decile

Schools

97/100

Elite

Childcare

3/100

Bottom decile

Environment

79/100

Strong

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Stockton-Lodi ranks #379 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 25.9/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Job market (85/100)

Job market

85
Climate

67
Housing

18
Air quality

17
Cost of living

8
Safety

8
Low hazard

8
Schools

3

What this shows Stockton-Lodi's strongest dimensions are job market and climate; its weakest among scored dims is schools at 3/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Stockton-Lodi to

Scranton--Wilkes-Barre Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor Sebring Sheboygan Sherman-Denison

Metros near Stockton-Lodi on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Stockton-Lodi 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

Stockton-Lodi cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Stockton-Lodi 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 Stockton-Lodi?

Stockton-Lodi runs a $71,848 median salary at a 105.1 cost index, ranking #379 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

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