Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Fullerton's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Fullerton?
Your $100,000 in Fullerton has the same purchasing power as $73,131 in the average US city. You'd need $26,869 more here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Fullerton's cost index of 137, sorted by closest match.
People moving to Fullerton usually have at least one specific reason. Most of them line up with what the data shows: a higher-income labor market than the national norm, daily errands don't require a car, plus 1 more things worth knowing. Here's what's actually on the table.
Median household income in Fullerton is $99,279, a step above the national median of about $75k. The local job market leans toward industries that pay better than average, and that shows up in the take-home for most working households here.
Fullerton earns a Walk Score of 61/100 — above the US median, with denser neighborhoods scoring higher than the citywide aggregate suggests. A car is still useful for longer trips, but everyday life works on foot for a lot of residents.
44% of adults 25 and over in Fullerton hold a bachelor's degree or higher — meaningfully above the US average of around 36%. That correlates with the things you'd expect: stronger schools, more white-collar employers, more bookstores than the population alone would predict.
Reasons are pulled from Fullerton's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Almost never. Fullerton's winter average of about 50°F is too warm for snow most years. A measurable snowfall is the kind of event that closes schools and gets photographed for the local paper.
Barely. Winter in Fullerton averages around 50°F — short, mild, mostly an excuse to break out a light jacket. Some plants don't even drop their leaves.
Pleasantly warm. Fullerton's summer averages around 75°F — comfortable for outdoor evenings, hot enough on peak days to warrant AC but mild compared to the Sun Belt.
Zone 10, give or take a half-zone. Fullerton's typical winter low puts it in that band on the USDA Hardiness map, which is what nurseries label plants against. Use Zone 10 as your starting filter; the USDA's interactive map is more precise for borderline cases.
Fullerton sits at about 272 feet (83 m) above sea level — low-lying, but with enough cushion that day-to-day life isn't affected by ocean levels.
Average for an American city. Fullerton's reported crime rate of about 3,055 per 100,000 residents sits roughly in line with the US baseline of ~3,500. Like anywhere else, the citywide number masks real differences between neighborhoods — worth looking at specific areas before deciding.
Yes — Fullerton is one of the more expensive places to live in the US. The cost-of-living index is 137, about 37% above the national average. Housing is the dominant factor, and salaries here have to be high to compensate.
Somewhat. Fullerton earns a Walk Score of 61/100 — many daily errands are doable on foot, especially in the denser neighborhoods, but a car still helps for longer trips. Transit Score is 37 out of 100.
Roughly $95,718 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Fullerton runs about $1,989/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.