Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Pico Rivera's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Pico Rivera?
Your $100,000 in Pico Rivera has the same purchasing power as $73,600 in the average US city. You'd need $26,400 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 Pico Rivera's cost index of 136, sorted by closest match.
People moving to Pico Rivera 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, on the calmer side of the national distribution, plus 1 more things worth knowing. Here's what's actually on the table.
Median household income in Pico Rivera is $82,539, 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.
Pico Rivera reports about 2,905 crime incidents per 100,000 residents — a step below the US average of around 3,500. The citywide number averages over neighborhoods that can vary a lot, but the headline number is friendlier than most American cities of comparable size.
Pico Rivera earns a Walk Score of 56/100 — 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.
Reasons are pulled from Pico Rivera'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. Pico Rivera'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 Pico Rivera 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. Pico Rivera'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. Pico Rivera'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.
Pico Rivera sits at about 174 feet (53 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. Pico Rivera's reported crime rate of about 2,905 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 — Pico Rivera is one of the more expensive places to live in the US. The cost-of-living index is 136, about 36% above the national average. Housing is the dominant factor, and salaries here have to be high to compensate.
Somewhat. Pico Rivera earns a Walk Score of 56/100 — many daily errands are doable on foot, especially in the denser neighborhoods, but a car still helps for longer trips.
Roughly $95,109 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 Pico Rivera runs about $1,702/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.