Austin, TX 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.

Austin

68.3

#1322 nationally

Santa Ana

63.6

#1759 nationally

Austin leads in school rating (7.2 vs 5.4). Santa Ana leads in walk score (55 vs 42). Austin leads in median household income ($91,461 vs $72,458).

Metric	Austin, TX	Santa Ana, CA
WhereAtHome Score	68.3 (#1322)	63.6 (#1759)
Population	967,862	310,227
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$504,148	$869,263
Median Household Income	$91,461	$72,458
Average Commute	26.8 min	26.8 min
Walk Score	42	55
Crime Level	Moderate	Moderate
School Rating	7.2	5.4
Cost of Living Index	129	138
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	D+39.3	D+2.6