Overall
108.5
Above avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Vallejo, CA
Cost-of-living indicators for Vallejo, CA, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 108.5
- Overall RPP
- #18
- of 387 metros
- 142.0
- Rents RPP
- $92K
- $100K national buys
Vallejo ranks #18 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has fallen 8.3 points since 2008.
- falling since 2008
- similar cost to San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles
The verdict
Vallejo is more expensive than 95% of U.S. metros, an overall cost index of 108.5, 8.5% above the national average, led by services at 155.0.
- top 5%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 105.2
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 155.0
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $92,184 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $108,479.
Vallejo vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
109 Top 5% higher than 95% 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
Vallejo cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
142 RPP
- Services
Services
155 RPP
- Overall
Overall
108.5 RPP
- Goods
Goods
105.2 RPP
What this shows Vallejo's strongest departure is services at 155.0; rents follows at 142.0. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Vallejo's cost comes from
Metros near Vallejo's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Vallejo (Vallejo, this metro): goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 142
- San Luis Obispo: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 144.4
- Boston: goods RPP 99.7, rents RPP 148.4
- Santa Maria: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 151.4
- Washington: goods RPP 104.8, rents RPP 151.1
- Salinas: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 145.7
- Santa Rosa: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 139.6
Price Index Summary
Goods
105.2
Above avg
Services
155.0
Expensive
Rents
142.0
Expensive
Service-cost-led profile
How Vallejo's cost structure works
Services are the defining pressure in Vallejo: the BEA services component is 155.0, farther above the national baseline than local rents or tradable goods. That service-heavy pattern explains an overall RPP of 108.5 differently from a housing-led metro.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA, Salinas, CA, San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA. They resemble Vallejo 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, Vallejo's overall index has fallen by 8.3 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:
$108,479
in Vallejo, CA purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$54,239
$75,000 nationally
$81,359
$125,000 nationally
$135,599
$150,000 nationally
$162,719
$200,000 nationally
$216,958
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
F
5/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability F
5th 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.
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Vallejo's overall RPP fell -0.9 points, from 109.4 in 2023 to 108.5 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 139.2 to 155.0. 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 downward, decreasing by 8.3 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2018, when the index dropped 7.1 points from the year before.
Vallejo overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 116.8 |
| 2009 | 113.7 |
| 2010 | 111.9 |
| 2011 | 109.5 |
| 2012 | 109.7 |
| 2013 | 110.2 |
| 2014 | 110.7 |
| 2015 | 112.7 |
| 2016 | 113.1 |
| 2017 | 117.6 |
| 2018 | 110.5 |
| 2019 | 109.2 |
| 2020 | 110.7 |
| 2021 | 109.4 |
| 2022 | 112.6 |
| 2023 | 109.4 |
| 2024 | 108.5 |
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Vallejo'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.
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 154.8 · Rents 139.6 Salinas, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 154.2 · Rents 145.7 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 147.8 · Rents 144.4 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
Goods 99.7 · Services 148.8 · Rents 148.4 Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 149.8 · Rents 151.4 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 151.3 · Rents 130.2
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Vallejo, CA's index of 108.5.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
CA-relative analysis
Goods prices places Vallejo, CA near the bottom of CA's metros
Among the 25 CA metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Vallejo, CA ranks #4 - the 4th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Vallejo, CA only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#4 of 25
4th percentile in CA
Services prices
#16 of 25
36th percentile in CA
Rent prices
#11 of 25
56th 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 Vallejo, 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 (108.5 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (142.0 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 →
Compare to Other Metros
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
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What this means for Vallejo
How to read Vallejo'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 $92,184 in Vallejo. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 155.0, 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 Vallejo 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 Vallejo, CA?
Vallejo, CA has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 108.5, meaning it is 8.5% more expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 105.2, services at 155.0, and rents at 142.0. It ranks #18 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Vallejo, CA to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $108,479 in Vallejo, CA. Conversely, $100K earned in Vallejo, CA has the purchasing power of $92,184 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Vallejo, CA?
Rents in Vallejo, CA are indexed at 142.0, which is 42.0% above the national average. This is significantly higher than typical U.S. rents.
Is Vallejo, CA getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Vallejo, CA's overall cost index changed by -8.3 points (from 116.8 to 108.5). The cost of living has been declining.
What costs the most in Vallejo, CA?
The priciest category in Vallejo, CA is services at 155.0, 55.0% 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 Vallejo, CA?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Santa Maria-Santa Barbara. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Vallejo, CA's 108.5.
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.