Arcata, CA vs Santa Ana, 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.

Arcata

65.5

#1626 nationally

Santa Ana

63.6

#1759 nationally

Santa Ana leads in median household income ($72,458 vs $43,444). Arcata leads in average commute (18.4 min vs 26.8 min). Santa Ana leads in walk score (55 vs 48).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Arcata, CA	Santa Ana, CA
WhereAtHome Score	65.5 (#1626)	63.6 (#1759)
Population	19,012	310,227
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$480,134	$869,263
Median Household Income	$43,444	$72,458
Average Commute	18.4 min	26.8 min
Walk Score	48	55
Crime Level	13.9	Moderate
School Rating	N/A	5.4
Cost of Living Index	133	138
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	D+28.4	D+2.6