Modesto is among best large metro areas to live in California, US News says. Here’s why

Modesto is the 10th best “most populous metro area” to live in California, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Aside from being host to the childhood homes of big-name entertainers like filmmaker George Lucas and actors Jeremy Renner and Timothy Olyphant, the “quiet residential neighborhoods” attract people looking for the balance between the peace and the “culturally rich city center,” the digital media company wrote in its 2023-24 ranking.

“Neighborhoods are lined with towering old trees, and numerous parks provide peaceful settings for walks and jogs,” the ranking reads. “Modesto is also encircled by farmland that’s focused on feeding the nation and the world with lettuce, grapes, almonds and dairy products.”

Modesto’s notable attributes, according to U.S. News:

• entertainment

• thriving agricultural industry

• pleasant weather

• proximity to Yosemite National Park, Lake Tahoe and San Francisco

U.S. News — a “digital media company dedicated to helping consumers, business leaders and policy officials make important decisions in their lives” — ranked metropolitan areas in the country based on a weighted assessment looking at data from the U.S. Census, FBI, U.S. Department of Labor and internal resources.

It considered factors such as quality of life, which includes crime rates, education quality and commuter index. The organization also assessed the affordability, desirability and job market of each city.

Fourteen California cities made the overall U.S. ranking. Modesto sat at No. 145.

Here are the California cities in that ranking:

1. San Jose

2. San Francisco

3. San Diego

4. Santa Barbara

5. Santa Rosa

6. Sacramento

7. Los Angeles

8. Vallejo/Fairfield

9. Salinas

10. Modesto

11. Fresno

12. Visalia

13. Stockton

14. Bakersfield

The Sacramento Bee’s Hanh Truong and Savanna Smith contributed to this story.

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