Arcata, CA vs Santa Paula, 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 Paula

64.8

#1675 nationally

Santa Paula leads in median household income ($72,014 vs $43,444). Santa Paula leads in crime level (9.0 vs 13.9). Arcata leads in average commute (18.4 min vs 28 min).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Arcata, CA	Santa Paula, CA
WhereAtHome Score	65.5 (#1626)	64.8 (#1675)
Population	19,012	31,792
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$480,134	$719,395
Median Household Income	$43,444	$72,014
Average Commute	18.4 min	28 min
Walk Score	48	59
Crime Level	13.9	9.0
School Rating	N/A	N/A
Cost of Living Index	133	142
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	D+28.4	D+15.1