Best Cities in California to Live
78 cities scored · state average MoveScore 62 (Excellent)
Cities Ranked by MoveScore
1. Chula Vista, CA
2. San Jose, CA
3. Santa Barbara, CA
4. Santa Cruz, CA
5. Fremont, CA
6. Stockton, CA
7. Woodland, CA
8. Oakland, CA
9. Concord, CA
10. Pomona, CA
11. Visalia, CA
12. Napa, CA
13. Santa Rosa, CA
14. Vallejo, CA
15. Roseville, CA
16. Anaheim, CA
17. Fontana, CA
18. Monterey, CA
19. Moreno Valley, CA
20. San Francisco, CA
21. Corona, CA
22. Modesto, CA
23. Pasadena, CA
24. Fresno, CA
25. San Diego, CA
26. Riverside, CA
27. Sacramento, CA
28. Alameda, CA
29. Torrance, CA
30. Long Beach, CA
31. Glendale, CA
32. Oxnard, CA
33. San Ramon, CA
34. Thousand Oaks, CA
35. Garden Grove, CA
36. Orange, CA
37. Santa Clara, CA
38. Victorville, CA
39. Los Angeles, CA
40. Bakersfield, CA
41. Clovis, CA
42. Oceanside, CA
43. Palmdale, CA
44. Escondido, CA
45. Merced, CA
46. San Bernardino, CA
47. Lancaster, CA
48. Murrieta, CA
49. Simi Valley, CA
50. Santa Ana, CA
51. Hayward, CA
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best city to live in California?
By MoveScore, Chula Vista, CA is the top-ranked city in California with a composite grade of A (80/100). Rankings combine FBI crime, EPA water and air, NCES schools, Census fiscal, and CMS hospital data.
How many cities in California are scored?
California has 78 cities with enough federal data for a MoveScore composite. The statewide average MoveScore is 62 out of 100.
What data is used to rank cities in California?
Every MoveScore sub-score traces to a federal source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting for safety, EPA SDWIS for drinking water, EPA AQS for air quality, NCES and EDFacts for public schools, Census ASPEP for municipal fiscal health, and CMS HCAHPS for hospital patient experience.
Rankings use equal-weighted average of up to six federal sub-scores, normalized to 0-100.