Quality of Life

California vs New York: Livability Score

New York has a higher livability score than California.

California flag
California
CA · West
50.49
Best States to Live In total score (August 11, 2025).
New York flag
New York
NY · Northeast
Winner
57.94
Best States to Live In total score (August 11, 2025).

Visual comparison

California50.49
New York57.94

Difference: 7.45 points — New York leads.

National Rankings

Where They Rank Nationally

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

California #32 · 50.49
New York #8 · 57.94
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 New York ranks 8th nationally for livability score.

Related context

What Drives the Score

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

MetricCaliforniaNew York
Cost of Living Index 138.5 132.7 Median Household Income $84,097 $78,609 Life Expectancy 79.2 yrs 79.4 yrs Violent Crime / 100k 499.5 319.6 Unemployment Rate 5.5% 4.6% Sunny Days / Year 146 days 63 days

What this means

California vs New York: Livability Score in context

New York's livability score is 57.94, compared with 50.49 in California, a gap of 14.8%. Best States to Live In total score (August 11, 2025).

California
50.49
New York
57.94
Difference
7.45 points

People also ask

California vs New York Livability Score — common questions

QWhat is California's livability score?

California's livability score is 50.49.

QWhat is New York's livability score?

New York's livability score is 57.94.

QWhich state has a higher livability score — California or New York?

New York has a higher livability score than California.

More comparisons: California vs New York

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Full comparison
Best State to Live In Cost of Living Gas Price Gas Tax Electricity Rates Commute Time Car Insurance Cost Average Credit Score

Explore each state

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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.