Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Modesto's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Modesto?
Your $100,000 in Modesto has the same purchasing power as $91,349 in the average US city. You'd need $8,651 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 Modesto's cost index of 109, sorted by closest match.
Wondering whether you should move to Modesto? It depends on what you're optimizing for, but the city has real arguments in its favor: genuinely walkable, not just walkable-on-paper and bike infrastructure that actually exists. The data behind each is below.
Modesto's Walk Score is 86/100 — top-tier walkability by US standards. Groceries, coffee, work, social life: most of it lands within reasonable foot range of wherever you live. A lot of residents skip car ownership entirely, which is its own form of savings on top of the lifestyle change. Transit Score comes in at 59/100 too, so even the trips that are too far to walk are usually doable on a bus or train.
Modesto's Bike Score is 63/100 — the kind of number you only get when a city has built real bike infrastructure (protected lanes, connected routes, drivers who expect cyclists). For commuting or just for getting around, the bike is a serious option here, not a hobby.
Reasons are pulled from Modesto'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.
Now and then. Modesto's winters are cool rather than truly cold — about 40°F on average — so most of the precipitation falls as rain. A snowy morning happens a few times a season; sustained accumulation is rare.
Mild on the cold side. Modesto's winter average of about 40°F is the kind of weather where you want a jacket but the heating bill is manageable. Snow is rare, frost is occasional, and the lawn never really browns out.
Genuinely hot. Summer in Modesto averages about 93°F, and peak afternoons run well over a hundred. Outdoor plans move to mornings and evenings; AC is the most-used appliance in the house.
Modesto falls in roughly USDA Zone 9. The zone classification is based on average annual minimum temperatures, so it's the right lookup for whether perennials and trees will overwinter here. Note that this is approximate from our winter-temperature data — check the USDA map for the exact zone before betting an expensive plant on it.
Modesto sits at about 95 feet (29 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. Modesto's reported crime rate of about 3,221 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.
Roughly average. Modesto's cost-of-living index is 109, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Yes — Modesto is one of the more walkable US cities. A Walk Score of 86/100 means most daily errands can be done on foot in most neighborhoods. Transit Score is 59 out of 100. Many residents go car-free comfortably.
Roughly $76,629 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 Modesto runs about $1,497/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.