Gardena, CA vs Merced, 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.

Gardena

61.9

#1883 nationally

Merced

64.3

#1702 nationally

Gardena leads in walk score (75 vs 42). Gardena leads in median household income ($75,443 vs $59,233). Merced leads in cost of living index (121 vs 154).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Gardena, CA	Merced, CA
WhereAtHome Score	61.9 (#1883)	64.3 (#1702)
Population	58,377	93,692
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$792,958	$397,570
Median Household Income	$75,443	$59,233
Average Commute	28.4 min	27 min
Walk Score	75	42
Crime Level	19.3	21.5
School Rating	N/A	N/A
Cost of Living Index	154	121
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	D+32.9	R+4.4