Fresno, CA vs Santa Cruz, 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.

Fresno

66.6

#1521 nationally

Santa Cruz

60.5

#1932 nationally

Santa Cruz leads in median household income ($105,491 vs $63,001). Fresno leads in cost of living index (123 vs 205). Santa Cruz leads in walk score (63 vs 47).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Fresno, CA	Santa Cruz, CA
WhereAtHome Score	66.6 (#1521)	60.5 (#1932)
Population	545,716	61,501
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$390,993	$1,360,355
Median Household Income	$63,001	$105,491
Average Commute	22.3 min	22.2 min
Walk Score	47	63
Crime Level	20.1	16.8
School Rating	N/A	N/A
Cost of Living Index	123	205
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	R+4.4	D+54.4