2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Merced, CA vs Dayton, NV

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Dayton or is it cheaper to live in Merced?
- Dayton is 3.8% less expensive than Merced.

Which city has more affordable housing, Dayton or Merced?
- Dayton housing costs are 21.4% more expensive than Merced housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Merced or is Health Care more affordable in Dayton.
- Health related expenses are 10.8% less in Dayton.
 Merced, CADayton, NVUnited States
 Overall  Unlock105.0100
 Food & Groceries99.5  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock108.2100
 Housing110.3  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$430,000$338,100
 Utilities110  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock92.5100
 Miscellaneous108.7  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Merced    44 Reviews

Merced is totally slept on - you want a little bit of everything CA has to offer, at a fraction of the price of other CA cities? Merced is the place to go. The town  More

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Over 5 years ago

Good place to live. More affordable than most of california. The city is growing and there is alot of business and growth here. Moved from the Bay area years ago and  More

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Great place to live. Lots of progress and changes coming to the city. Great place to raise a family. UC Merced is expanding and businesses are investing. Downtown is  More

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Reviews for Dayton    4 Reviews

We moved from Klamath Falls, OR, where we lived for 14 yrs. and was one of the friendliest towns I've experienced, to Dayton in 2019. Priced out of the housing markets  More

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Over 4 years ago

Do yourself a huge favor before you decide to live here, and visit during both summer and winter. Don't rely on the lying locals that tell you how mild the winters are  More

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Over 10 years ago

After retiring from California we searched from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Arizona and Nevada and we settled in Dayton Nevada. It is a wonderful small town just 11+  More

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