Best places to live in California
8 California metros scored on the default family weighting — schools and safety heaviest, then affordability, climate, college pipeline and jobs. Change the weights on the ranking engine to see your own order.
Who lives in California
Population-weighted racial and ethnic composition across the 8 tracked California metros, from Census ACS table B03002.
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 31.8%
- Hispanic or Latino
- 39.8%
- Black (non-Hispanic)
- 5.7%
- Asian (non-Hispanic)
- 17.1%
- Other or two or more
- 5.5%
Diversity index 85/100 — how evenly the population is spread across these groups. It is descriptive, not a judgement: weight it up, down or to zero on the ranking engine.
| # | Metro | Score | US rank | Typical home | Schools | Safety | Climate | Diversity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose | 58.7 | #22 of 103 | $1524k | 95 | 20 | 43° / 84° | 88 |
| 2 | San Diego | 45.1 | #78 of 103 | $927k | 68 | 20 | 50° / 77° | 85 |
| 3 | San Francisco | 44.7 | #79 of 103 | $1120k | 80 | 20 | 46° / 68° | 92 |
| 4 | Los Angeles | 41.4 | #85 of 103 | $950k | 48 | 20 | 49° / 84° | 86 |
| 5 | Sacramento | 40.6 | #86 of 103 | $573k | 53 | 20 | 39° / 93° | 86 |
| 6 | Riverside | 26.6 | #99 of 103 | $580k | 23 | 20 | 41° / 96° | 78 |
| 7 | Fresno | 26.3 | #100 of 103 | $404k | 22 | 20 | 38° / 98° | 76 |
| 8 | Bakersfield | 25.9 | #101 of 103 | $360k | 16 | 20 | 39° / 97° | 73 |
Figures are compiled estimates. Methodology and sources.