What is the cost of living in Yuba City?

Yuba City has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 104.2, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 108.3, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,550/month.

What is the median salary in Yuba City?

The median salary in Yuba City is $70,660 annually (mean: $74,275). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, Fast Food and Counter Workers.

How safe is Yuba City?

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

What are the schools like in Yuba City?

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 Yuba City?

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

Is Yuba City a good place to relocate?

Yuba City has a Life Score of 41.3/100 (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 is a below-average score, several dimensions likely pull the composite down; compare specific dimensions to see which ones.

Where does Yuba City sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Yuba City ranks #374 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

Yuba City, CA

LiveAbility 27.4/100 places Yuba City #374 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

104.2
Cost index (US=100): $1,550
2BR rent / mo: $70,660
Median salary: 27.4
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Yuba City ranks #374 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (27.4/100), with its strongest marks in job market and climate.

#374
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 (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), Yuba City ranks #374 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 104.2 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,550/mo, median salary $70,660; LiveAbility Score 27.4/100, strongest in job market and climate.

Signature: LiveAbility 27.4/100 places Yuba City #374 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 104.2 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,550/mo.

LiveAbility 27.4/100 puts Yuba City in the bottom third (#374 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Yuba City area is 45,420.

Yuba City 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)

27 Top 97% higher than 3% 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

Yuba City housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Yuba City MSA; housing RPP 108.3 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,550/mo.

Studio

$1,166

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,272

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,550

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,156

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,600

/month

Yuba City wages and employment

Yuba City posts 45,420 total employment with median salary $70,660 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$70,660

Mean Salary

$74,275

Total Employment

45,420

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$34,320
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	$58,230
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$42,040
Cashiers	$35,790
Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary	$45,880

Schools & Education

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

Infant (Center)

$17,920

per year

Toddler (Center)

$12,300

per year

Preschool (Center)

$11,385

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Yuba City's composite Life Score is 41.3/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

9/100

Bottom decile

Wages

82/100

Elite

Rent

28/100

Weak

Crime

7/100

Bottom decile

Schools

98/100

Elite

Childcare

2/100

Bottom decile

Environment

80/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Yuba City ranks #374 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 27.4/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Job market (82/100)

Job market

82
Climate

68
Housing

28
Air quality

23
Cost of living

9
Safety

7
Low hazard

7
Schools

2

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

Compare Yuba City to

Gulfport-Biloxi Hagerstown-Martinsburg Hammond Hanford-Corcoran Harrisburg-Carlisle Harrisonburg

Metros near Yuba City on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Yuba City 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

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

Yuba City runs a $70,660 median salary at a 104.2 cost index, ranking #374 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

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