What salary do you need to live in Stockton, CA?

What housing costs in Stockton

Census figures put the median gross rent in the Stockton-Lodi, CA metro at $1,299 for a one-bedroom, $1,609 for a two-bedroom and $1,983 for a three-bedroom. Moving from one to two bedrooms adds $310 a month, and the third bedroom another $374.

The median value of owner-occupied homes in the metro is $530,700. Set against the $92,179 median household income, that is a ratio of 5.8×, which keeps the buying part of the score low for most incomes.

Price levels matter beyond rent. The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures Stockton's overall prices at 105.1 on a scale where the nation is 100, which makes a $100,000 salary feel like about $95,157 would elsewhere.

The salary lines for a two-bedroom in Stockton

The salary lines for a two-bedroom household land at $71,000 for Tight, $143,000 for Okay and $287,000 for Comfortable. The gap between the Okay and Comfortable lines alone is $144,000, which says how much extra income it takes to make housing feel roomy here rather than merely workable.

Reaching Royal takes $871,000 — 3.0× the Comfortable line — because the last points come slowly once rent is already a small share.

Each figure is the lowest income, to the next $1,000, at which the calculator itself would show that grade for a two-bedroom in Stockton.

Scores at $50K, $75K, $100K and $150K in Stockton

Take a $75,000 salary. In a one-bedroom the rent share is 21% and the score 30, Tight; in a three-bedroom the share rises to 32% and the score falls to 23, Stretched.

None of the four salaries reaches Comfortable for two bedrooms; even $150,000 scores 47, Okay, which fits the $287,000 line above.

How Stockton ranks among 387 metros

Out of 387 metros, Stockton has the 30th highest price parity and the 48th highest two-bedroom rent, which puts it in the top 10% on overall prices and in the most expensive quarter on rent.

For a sense of scale, the metros just above and below it on two-bedroom rent are Kingston, NY ($1,609) and Portland-South Portland, ME ($1,608).

Stockton next to California and similar metros

Statewide, California's median two-bedroom rent is $2,103 and its median home value $734,700. Stockton's rent is −23% against that, and its home value −28%; the price parity is 105.1 versus 110.7 for the state.

Run California's statewide medians through the same score and Comfortable begins at $439,000; Stockton's line is −35% from that.

Within California, the metros closest to Stockton on rent and overall prices are Modesto, CA, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA, and Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA. Their Comfortable lines for two bedrooms sit at $255,000, $312,000, and $333,000.

Stockton's median income on the scale

What about a typical local household? Census puts median household income here at $92,179, which grades Tight (33) for a two-bedroom at the median rent. That falls $194,821 short of the $287,000 Comfortable line, a reminder that the typical household here spends a larger share on housing than the Comfortable band allows. For California as a whole, the median household income of $99,122 scores 23 against statewide rents. Household income can include more than one earner, so a single salary of the same size goes less far.

Estimates use pre-tax income and public data; they are not financial advice.