Overall
104.1
Above avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Modesto, CA
Cost-of-living indicators for Modesto, CA, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 104.1
- Overall RPP
- #35
- of 387 metros
- 108.5
- Rents RPP
- $96K
- $100K national buys
Modesto ranks #35 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has risen 5.4 points since 2008.
- rising since 2008
- similar cost to Corvallis
The verdict
Modesto is more expensive than 91% of U.S. metros, an overall cost index of 104.1, 4.1% above the national average, led by services at 152.3.
- top 9%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 105.2
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 152.3
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $96,054 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $104,108.
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Modesto's overall RPP fell -1.0 points, from 105.1 in 2023 to 104.1 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 140.2 to 152.3. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending upward, increasing by 5.4 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2018, when the index jumped 4.6 points from the year before.
Modesto overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 98.7 |
| 2009 | 102.5 |
| 2010 | 100.4 |
| 2011 | 101.8 |
| 2012 | 102.1 |
| 2013 | 100.7 |
| 2014 | 99.3 |
| 2015 | 98.6 |
| 2016 | 97.8 |
| 2017 | 99.9 |
| 2018 | 104.5 |
| 2019 | 104.6 |
| 2020 | 103.2 |
| 2021 | 103.0 |
| 2022 | 106.0 |
| 2023 | 105.1 |
| 2024 | 104.1 |
Modesto vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
104 Top 9% higher than 91% of 387 US metros
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, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Modesto cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
108.5 RPP
- Services
Services
152.3 RPP
- Overall
Overall
104.1 RPP
- Goods
Goods
105.2 RPP
What this shows Modesto's strongest departure is services at 152.3; rents follows at 108.5. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Modesto's cost comes from
Metros near Modesto's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Modesto (Modesto, this metro): goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 108.5
- Corvallis: goods RPP 105.3, rents RPP 114.4
- Yuba City: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 108.3
- Wenatchee: goods RPP 105, rents RPP 115
- Baltimore: goods RPP 102.4, rents RPP 118.2
- Olympia: goods RPP 105, rents RPP 116.7
- New Haven: goods RPP 97.3, rents RPP 124.3
Price Index Summary
Goods
105.2
Above avg
Services
152.3
Expensive
Rents
108.5
Above avg
Service-cost-led profile
How Modesto's cost structure works
Services are the defining pressure in Modesto: the BEA services component is 152.3, farther above the national baseline than local rents or tradable goods. That service-heavy pattern explains an overall RPP of 104.1 differently from a housing-led metro.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Yuba City, CA, Stockton-Lodi, CA, Worcester, MA. They resemble Modesto across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Modesto's overall index has risen by 5.4 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$104,108
in Modesto, CA purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$52,054
$75,000 nationally
$78,081
$125,000 nationally
$130,135
$150,000 nationally
$156,162
$200,000 nationally
$208,216
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
F
18/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability F
18th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
CA-relative analysis
Goods prices places Modesto, CA near the bottom of CA's metros
Among the 25 CA metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Modesto, CA ranks #4 - the 4th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Modesto, CA only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#4 of 25
4th percentile in CA
Services prices
#21 of 25
16th percentile in CA
Rent prices
#16 of 25
36th percentile in CA
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within CA only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Modesto, CA: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (104.1 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (108.5 here).
Other CA Metros
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 115.6 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 113.6 Napa, CA 112.6 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA 111.9 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 110.5 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 110.4
View all CA metros → Cheapest in CA → Most expensive in CA →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Modesto's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Yuba City, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 160.8 · Rents 108.3 Stockton-Lodi, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 158.2 · Rents 115.6 Worcester, MA
Goods 97.0 · Services 155.2 · Rents 113.0 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA
Goods 97.1 · Services 148.8 · Rents 103.9 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT
Goods 97.3 · Services 144.9 · Rents 110.2 Amherst Town-Northampton, MA
Goods 97.0 · Services 155.7 · Rents 97.5
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Modesto, CA's index of 104.1.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Compare to Other Metros
What this means for Modesto
How to read Modesto's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $96,054 in Modesto. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 152.3, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Modesto head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Modesto, CA?
Modesto, CA has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 104.1, meaning it is 4.1% more expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 105.2, services at 152.3, and rents at 108.5. It ranks #35 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Modesto, CA to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $104,108 in Modesto, CA. Conversely, $100K earned in Modesto, CA has the purchasing power of $96,054 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Modesto, CA?
Rents in Modesto, CA are indexed at 108.5, which is 8.5% above the national average. This is close to the U.S. average.
Is Modesto, CA getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Modesto, CA's overall cost index changed by +5.4 points (from 98.7 to 104.1). The cost of living has been trending upward.
What costs the most in Modesto, CA?
The priciest category in Modesto, CA is services at 152.3, 52.3% above the national average. The most affordable category is goods at 105.2, 5.2% above average, still the lowest of the three categories.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Modesto, CA?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Corvallis, Yuba City, Wenatchee-East Wenatchee. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Modesto, CA's 104.1.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.