Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Thousand Oaks's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Thousand Oaks?
Your $100,000 in Thousand Oaks has the same purchasing power as $73,206 in the average US city. You'd need $26,794 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 Thousand Oaks's cost index of 137, sorted by closest match.
If you're weighing a move to Thousand Oaks, the short answer is that the city has a few genuine arguments going for it — most obviously paychecks here run high and the weather doesn't punish you, plus 4 more things worth knowing. Here's the longer version.
Median household income in Thousand Oaks is $125,399 — well above the US median of roughly $75k. It's a city where high-paying industries (tech, finance, professional services) cluster, and the income distribution tilts noticeably upward relative to most of the country.
Summers in Thousand Oaks average about 77°F, winters around 45°F. That's the band where you get distinct seasons without either end being miserable — a real spring and fall, summers warm enough for the pool, winters cold enough for a jacket but not for survival gear.
Thousand Oaks reports roughly 1,165 crime incidents per 100,000 residents, well under the US average of about 3,500 per 100k. As always, citywide numbers paper over real differences between neighborhoods — but the broader trend here is on the calmer end of the US distribution.
Thousand Oaks earns a Walk Score of 57/100 — 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.
Thousand Oaks's air quality index averages about 39 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
50% of adults 25 and over in Thousand Oaks 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 Thousand Oaks'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. Thousand Oaks's winters are cool rather than truly cold — about 45°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. Thousand Oaks's winter average of about 45°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.
Pleasantly warm. Thousand Oaks's summer averages around 77°F — comfortable for outdoor evenings, hot enough on peak days to warrant AC but mild compared to the Sun Belt.
Approximately USDA Hardiness Zone 9. That's the band gardeners use to pick plants — anything rated for Zone 9 or colder should survive a typical winter in Thousand Oaks. (The estimate is derived from our winter-temperature data; the official USDA map uses station-level annual minimums and may differ by half a zone.)
Thousand Oaks is at about 781 feet (238 m) above sea level. High enough to be solidly above any coastal concern, low enough that altitude isn't a factor.
By the numbers, yes. Thousand Oaks reports roughly 1,165 crime incidents per 100,000 residents — well under the US average of about 3,500 per 100k. The big caveat applies as always: every city has neighborhoods that look nothing like the citywide average. But the citywide average here is genuinely good.
Yes — Thousand Oaks 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. Thousand Oaks earns a Walk Score of 57/100 — many daily errands are doable on foot, especially in the denser neighborhoods, but a car still helps for longer trips. Transit Score is 21 out of 100.
Roughly $95,620 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 Thousand Oaks runs about $2,483/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.