Chico, 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.

Chico

66.4

#1544 nationally

Santa Ana

63.6

#1759 nationally

Chico leads in average commute (17.5 min vs 26.8 min). Santa Ana leads in walk score (55 vs 49). Santa Ana leads in median household income ($72,458 vs $65,932).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Chico, CA	Santa Ana, CA
WhereAtHome Score	66.4 (#1544)	63.6 (#1759)
Population	101,301	310,227
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$464,980	$869,263
Median Household Income	$65,932	$72,458
Average Commute	17.5 min	26.8 min
Walk Score	49	55
Crime Level	19.2	Moderate
School Rating	N/A	5.4
Cost of Living Index	133	138
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	R+3.1	D+2.6