2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Merced, CA vs Rochester, NY

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Rochester or is it cheaper to live in Merced?
- Rochester is 18.8% less expensive than Merced.

Which city has more affordable housing, Rochester or Merced?
- Rochester housing costs are 59.4% less expensive than Merced housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Merced or is Health Care more affordable in Rochester.
- Health related expenses are 11.5% less in Rochester.
 Merced, CARochester, NYUnited States
 Overall  Unlock88.6100
 Food & Groceries99.5  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock107.3100
 Housing110.3  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$130,900$338,100
 Utilities110  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock90.6100
 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 Rochester    79 Reviews

Stay out of the rougher patches, and you'll find a pretty solid city. I live within close proximity to it, and the crime from it DOES rub off on us (auto theft), but  More

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Rochester isn't perfect (I'll detail pros and cons), but it's certainly perfect for me and my husband. We've lived here for 4 years and are getting ready to purchase our  More

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Rochester is a scenic city with so much to offer in terms of things to do and having 4 seasons, except the summer is more like a long spring!! It's a relatively unknown  More

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