Where’s the cheapest place to live in California?

”Survey says” looks astatine assorted rankings and scorecards judging geographic locations, noting these grades are champion seen arsenic a premix of creation and data.

Buzz: California mightiness not beryllium arsenic costly arsenic you think, with 9 of its metropolitan areas having a outgo of surviving beneath the nationalist average.

Source: My trusty spreadsheet retooled a mentation of the national determination terms parity indexes, which gauge section levels of depletion for goods and services, including rent.

Yes, it takes the Bureau of Economic Analysis important clip to bash this math, truthful these are stats for 2020. But the numbers supply a coagulated examination of comparative surviving expenses successful 384 metropolitan areas nationwide.

Details

This mathematics wasn’t benignant to California overall.

The outgo of surviving successful the Golden State successful 2020 was 10.4% much than the U.S. mean — the fourth-highest level among the states trailing lone Hawaii, the District of Columbia and New Jersey. That means a outgo of $1,000 for a U.S. user is really $1,104 successful California.

And to nary surprise, those higher costs are mostly tied to housing. These indexes amusement putting a extortion implicit one’s caput successful California costs 60% much than the U.S. norm, second-worst successful the federation down Hawaii. So what’s $1,600 for California lodging expenses would beryllium conscionable $1,000 by the nationalist benchmark.

Yet determination are “bargains” to beryllium found. El Centro is California’s cheapest spot, based connected this math.

The Mexican borderline assemblage had a outgo of surviving 6.6% beneath the nationalist average. Still, determination were 148 U.S. metropolitan areas successful different states that were cheaper than El Centro.

Curiously, lodging isn’t the occupation successful El Centro, says these indexes. Its structure costs tally 35% beneath the U.S. mean — putting El Centro 81 spots from the bottom.

The different California metros with below-average costs of surviving are acold from the costly seashore and are decidedly not the state’s large cities …

Hanford (ranked 131st astir costly nationally): 3.9% cheaper than a emblematic U.S. metro. Housing: No. 242 nationally astatine 27% cheaper.

Madera (No. 126): 3.7% cheaper. Housing: No. 236 astatine 26% cheaper.

Visalia (No. 102): 2.4% cheaper. Housing: No. 186 astatine 19% cheaper.

Merced (No. 79): 0.8% cheaper. Housing: No. 146 astatine 13% cheaper.

Bakersfield (No. 78): 0.8% cheaper. Housing: No. 135 astatine 12% cheaper.

Yuba City (No. 75): 0.5% cheaper. Housing: No. 131 astatine 11% cheaper.

Fresno (No. 73): 0.2% cheaper. Housing: No. 121 astatine 9% cheaper.

Redding (No. 70): 0.1% cheaper. Housing: No. 119 astatine 8% cheaper.

Elsewhere

You cannot place the 17 California metro areas that are costlier than the nationalist norm. They’re chiefly more-populated locales adjacent the water oregon the state’s tourer regions …

Chico (No. 56 nationally): 1.5% costlier than the U.S. average. Housing: No. 90 with costs adjacent to the nationalist average.

Modesto (No. 41): 2.7% costlier. Housing: No. 62 astatine 7% costlier.

Inland Empire (No. 38): 3.7% costlier. Housing: No. 32 astatine 24% costlier.

Stockton (No. 37): 3.8% costlier. Housing: No. 49 astatine 15% costlier.

Sacramento (No. 23): 6.1% costlier. Housing: No. 26 astatine 32% costlier.

Vallejo (No. 20): 8.4% costlier. Housing: No. 17 astatine 50% costlier.

Santa Cruz (No. 18): 9.4% costlier. Housing: No. 9 astatine 68% costlier.

San Luis Obispo (No. 17): 9.5% costlier. Housing: No. 16 astatine 52% costlier vs. No. 15 successful 2010.

Santa Rosa (No. 16): 9.8% costlier. Housing: No. 8 astatine 69% costlier.

Santa Barbara (No. 14): 10% costlier. Housing: No. 12 astatine 63% costlier.

Salinas (No. 12): 10.7% costlier. Housing: No. 10 astatine 67% costlier.

Ventura County (No. 11): 11.4% costlier. Housing: No. 3 astatine 85% costlier.

Napa (No. 10): 11.4% costlier. Housing: No. 6 astatine 78% costlier.

Los Angeles-Orange County (No. 7): 11.9% costlier. Housing: No. 5 astatine 79% costlier.

San Jose (No. 5): 12.1% costlier. Housing: No. 1 astatine 131% costlier.

San Diego (No. 4): 13.4% costlier. Housing: No. 4 astatine 81% costlier.

San Francisco was the astir costly spot successful the nation. Its outgo of surviving ran 17.4% supra average. Its lodging ranked 2nd priciest, 107% much than what a emblematic American pays.

Caveat

The terms parity’s full database was retooled this year. Among different changes, the caller calculations are somewhat little babelike connected lodging costs.

The impact? Looking astatine 2019, for example, comparative costs for San Francisco were recovered to beryllium 8% little from aged stats to revised numbers. L.A.-O.C. costs fell by 12% and the authorities wide by 5%.

Despite seemingly much favorable treatment, this mathematics showed California was location to 7 of the 12 priciest places to unrecorded successful America.

Bottom line

Here’s an unusual factoid astir California life’s long-running headache of precocious expenses: Over a decade, lone 5 of the state’s 26 metro areas moved down the rankings of priciest places to live.

The Inland Empire improved, cost-wise, ranking 38th highest successful 2020 vs. 32nd successful 2010. Vallejo was No. 20 from 13th, Santa Cruz was No. 18 from seventh-highest, Santa Rosa was No. 16 from eighth-highest, and Napa was No. 10 from sixth-highest.

Jonathan Lansner is the concern columnist for the Southern California News Group. He tin beryllium reached astatine jlansner@scng.com