Overall
105.1
Above avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Stockton-Lodi, CA
Cost-of-living indicators for Stockton-Lodi, CA, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 105.1
- Overall RPP
- #30
- of 387 metros
- 115.6
- Rents RPP
- $95K
- $100K national buys
Stockton ranks #30 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has risen 4.9 points since 2008.
- rising since 2008
- similar cost to Boulder
The verdict
Stockton is more expensive than 92% of U.S. metros, an overall cost index of 105.1, 5.1% above the national average, led by services at 158.2.
- top 8%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 105.2
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 158.2
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $95,157 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $105,089.
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Stockton's overall RPP fell -2.5 points, from 107.6 in 2023 to 105.1 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 142.8 to 158.2. 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 4.9 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2018, when the index jumped 4.3 points from the year before.
Stockton overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 100.2 |
| 2009 | 104.5 |
| 2010 | 101.5 |
| 2011 | 103.7 |
| 2012 | 103.8 |
| 2013 | 102.2 |
| 2014 | 102.4 |
| 2015 | 100.2 |
| 2016 | 99.9 |
| 2017 | 101.7 |
| 2018 | 106.0 |
| 2019 | 105.7 |
| 2020 | 105.3 |
| 2021 | 104.6 |
| 2022 | 108.5 |
| 2023 | 107.6 |
| 2024 | 105.1 |
Stockton vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
105 Top 8% higher than 92% 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
Stockton cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
115.6 RPP
- Services
Services
158.2 RPP
- Overall
Overall
105.1 RPP
- Goods
Goods
105.2 RPP
What this shows Stockton's strongest departure is services at 158.2; rents follows at 115.6. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Stockton's cost comes from
Metros near Stockton's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Stockton (Stockton, this metro): goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 115.6
- Boulder: goods RPP 96.1, rents RPP 157
- Minneapolis: goods RPP 103.1, rents RPP 111.8
- Anchorage: goods RPP 107.3, rents RPP 109.9
- Portland: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 125.1
- Bremerton: goods RPP 105, rents RPP 129.6
- New Haven: goods RPP 97.3, rents RPP 124.3
Price Index Summary
Goods
105.2
Above avg
Services
158.2
Expensive
Rents
115.6
Expensive
Service-cost-led profile
How Stockton's cost structure works
Services are the defining pressure in Stockton: the BEA services component is 158.2, farther above the national baseline than local rents or tradable goods. That service-heavy pattern explains an overall RPP of 105.1 differently from a housing-led metro.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Yuba City, CA, Worcester, MA, Modesto, CA. They resemble Stockton 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, Stockton's overall index has risen by 4.9 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:
$105,089
in Stockton-Lodi, CA purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$52,544
$75,000 nationally
$78,817
$125,000 nationally
$131,361
$150,000 nationally
$157,633
$200,000 nationally
$210,178
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
F
13/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability F
13th 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 Stockton-Lodi, CA near the bottom of CA's metros
Among the 25 CA metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Stockton-Lodi, CA ranks #4 - the 4th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Stockton-Lodi, CA only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#4 of 25
4th percentile in CA
Services prices
#9 of 25
64th percentile in CA
Rent prices
#15 of 25
40th 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 Stockton-Lodi, 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 (105.1 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (115.6 here).
Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV Rents 115.5 Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY Rents 115.8 Colorado Springs, CO Rents 116.2 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA Rents 115.0 Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA Rents 116.7 Corvallis, OR Rents 114.4 Port St. Lucie, FL Rents 113.6 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Rents 117.9
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 Stockton'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 Worcester, MA
Goods 97.0 · Services 155.2 · Rents 113.0 Modesto, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 152.3 · Rents 108.5 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 151.3 · Rents 130.2 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT
Goods 97.3 · Services 144.9 · Rents 110.2 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA
Goods 97.1 · Services 148.8 · Rents 103.9
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Stockton-Lodi, CA's index of 105.1.
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 Stockton
How to read Stockton'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 $95,157 in Stockton. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 158.2, 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 Stockton 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 Stockton-Lodi, CA?
Stockton-Lodi, CA has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 105.1, meaning it is 5.1% more expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 105.2, services at 158.2, and rents at 115.6. It ranks #30 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Stockton-Lodi, CA to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $105,089 in Stockton-Lodi, CA. Conversely, $100K earned in Stockton-Lodi, CA has the purchasing power of $95,157 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Stockton-Lodi, CA?
Rents in Stockton-Lodi, CA are indexed at 115.6, which is 15.6% above the national average. This is significantly higher than typical U.S. rents.
Is Stockton-Lodi, CA getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Stockton-Lodi, CA's overall cost index changed by +4.9 points (from 100.2 to 105.1). The cost of living has been trending upward.
What costs the most in Stockton-Lodi, CA?
The priciest category in Stockton-Lodi, CA is services at 158.2, 58.2% 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 Stockton-Lodi, CA?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Boulder, Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Anchorage. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Stockton-Lodi, CA's 105.1.
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.