Quality of Life

California vs Massachusetts: Livability Score

Massachusetts has a higher livability score than California.

California flag
California
CA · West
50.49
Best States to Live In total score (August 11, 2025).
Massachusetts flag
Massachusetts
MA · Northeast
Winner
60.23
Best States to Live In total score (August 11, 2025).

Visual comparison

California50.49
Massachusetts60.23

Difference: 9.74 points — Massachusetts leads.

National Rankings

Where They Rank Nationally

See where both states fall among all 50 states for livability score.

California #32 · 50.49
Massachusetts #1 · 60.23
Lowest Highest

Top 10 States — Livability Score

#1 Massachusetts flag Massachusetts
60.23
#2 Idaho flag Idaho
60.19
#3 New Jersey flag New Jersey
59.81
#4 Wisconsin flag Wisconsin
59.66
#5 Minnesota flag Minnesota
58.69
#6 Florida flag Florida
58.51
#7 New Hampshire flag New Hampshire
58.21
#8 New York flag New York
57.94
#9 Utah flag Utah
57.94
#10 Pennsylvania flag Pennsylvania
57.90
Selected states
#32 California flag California
50.49

California ranks 32nd and Massachusetts ranks 1st nationally for livability score.

Related context

What Drives the Score

The livability score synthesizes several quality-of-life signals — here are the key inputs.

MetricCaliforniaMassachusetts
Cost of Living Index 138.5 148.8 Median Household Income $84,097 $96,505 Life Expectancy 79.2 yrs 80.0 yrs Violent Crime / 100k 499.5 283.3 Unemployment Rate 5.5% 4.8% Sunny Days / Year 146 days 98 days

What this means

California vs Massachusetts: Livability Score in context

Massachusetts's livability score is 60.23, compared with 50.49 in California, a gap of 19.3%. Best States to Live In total score (August 11, 2025).

California
50.49
Massachusetts
60.23
Difference
9.74 points

People also ask

California vs Massachusetts Livability Score — common questions

QWhat is California's livability score?

California's livability score is 50.49.

QWhat is Massachusetts's livability score?

Massachusetts's livability score is 60.23.

QWhich state has a higher livability score — California or Massachusetts?

Massachusetts has a higher livability score than California.

QHow much more livability score does Massachusetts have compared to California?

9.74 points.

More comparisons: California vs Massachusetts

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Full comparison
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Data source and freshness

Primary source
WalletHub — Best States to Live In
Data period
2025 comparison
Dataset reviewed
July 23, 2026
Method note
WalletHub total score incorporated into the comparison dataset.