Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura cost of living
Prices in the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA metro area run at 110.5 against a national average of 100, ranking it #9 of 387 metros. Rents there sit at 171.1.
What drives the number
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura is one of the most expensive places the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures, at 110.5 against a national 100, ranking #9 of 387 metro areas. Being 10.5 per cent above national is the sort of gap that changes which job offers are worth taking. It is priced almost exactly like California as a whole, which is unusual for a metro area.
Housing is doing nearly all of the work. Rents sit at 171.1 while goods sit at 105.2, a gap of 60.6 points between what it costs to live somewhere and what it costs to buy things. That pattern is the single most useful thing the parity series shows: the cost of a place is the cost of its housing. Goods at 105.2 are themselves 5.2 points off national, which is a wide gap for a category that is mostly shipped in.
The practical use of this number is converting pay between places. Take any salary quoted here, divide by 110.5, multiply by 100, and you have what it would need to be nationally to leave you equally well off.
The vertical line is the national average of 100. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, SARPP, 2024.
What the biggest local jobs are really worth
The same pay buys different amounts in different places, so a salary quoted in Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura is not comparable to one quoted elsewhere until it is divided by the local parity. These are the occupations that employ the most people here, with the quoted median alongside what that median is worth at national prices.
| Occupation | Employed | Median pay | Worth nationally | U.S. median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 14,670 | $33,870 | $30,652 | $34,900 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 9,180 | $36,620 | $33,140 | $30,480 |
| Retail Salespersons | 7,990 | $35,830 | $32,425 | $34,580 |
| Cashiers | 7,620 | $35,490 | $32,118 | $31,190 |
| General and Operations Managers | 5,590 | $102,470 | $92,733 | $102,950 |
| Office Clerks, General | 5,590 | $47,660 | $43,131 | $43,630 |
| Registered Nurses | 5,430 | $128,520 | $116,308 | $93,600 |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 5,390 | $39,190 | $35,466 | $38,940 |
Pay from the BLS metro survey, adjusted by dividing by the metro parity of 110.5.
Nearby metro areas
| Metro area | All items | Rents | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont | 115.6 | 194.7 | #1 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | 113.6 | 170.4 | #3 |
| Napa | 112.6 | 197.4 | #4 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | 111.9 | 179.3 | #6 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara | 110.4 | 211.9 | #10 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | 109.9 | 164.3 | #11 |
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura: common questions
Is Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura expensive?
Prices are 10.5% above the national average, a parity of 110.5 where the country is 100. It ranks #9 of the 387 metro areas BEA measures. Against California as a whole it is 0.2 points less expensive.
What salary do you need in Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura?
The median worker there earns $50,010, which buys what $45,258 buys nationally once local prices are taken into account. Comparing a salary offer between cities without this adjustment is comparing nothing useful.
Is housing the reason?
Usually. Rents here are at 171.1 against goods at 105.2. Goods barely vary between American cities because most are shipped and priced nationally; housing varies enormously, and it dominates any cost of living comparison.