Albany, OR vs San Marcos, CA

Side-by-side comparison of housing, income, commute, safety, and quality of life.

Score Snapshot

No universal winner

Scores summarize the published model. Use the objective metric differences below and your own priorities to choose.

Albany

70.6

#1081 nationally

San Marcos

62.2

#1870 nationally

Albany leads in cost of living index (111 vs 166). San Marcos leads in median household income ($99,413 vs $69,777). Albany leads in average commute (21.1 min vs 26.7 min).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Albany, OR	San Marcos, CA
WhereAtHome Score	70.6 (#1081)	62.2 (#1870)
Population	57,053	94,188
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$439,047	$953,736
Median Household Income	$69,777	$99,413
Average Commute	21.1 min	26.7 min
Walk Score	33	33
Crime Level	5.4	6.1
School Rating	N/A	N/A
Cost of Living Index	111	166
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	R+24.4	D+16.8