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| Thursday Night Market in downtown Chico. |
Chico provides ready access to large metropolitan areas like the San Francisco Bay Area without the expensive cost of living. In fact, San Francisco’s cost of living is 69.5% higher than Chico’s. Lower housing costs are a major contributing factor to this lower cost lifestyle.
| Cost of Living | |
| This index compares the relative cost of living in different locations. Using the United States as the base location i.e. a value of 100), an index value of 120 means that the cost of living in that particular community is 20 percent higher that in the base location; a value of 94 indicates a more affordable location. | |
| Location | Cost of Living Index |
| Chico, California | 117 |
| Seattle, Washington | 143 |
| Los Angeles, California | 144 |
| San Francisco, California | 206 |
| Source: Sperling's Best Places (www.bestplaces.net), 2010 data; the total of all cost of living categories is weighted as follows: 30% housing, 15% groceries, 10% transportation, 6% utilities, 7% health care, and 32% miscellaneous (clothing, services, entertainment); state and local taxes are not included (June 2011). | |
