Gardena, CA vs San Marcos, 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

San Marcos

62.2

#1870 nationally

San Marcos leads in crime level (6.1 vs 19.3). Gardena leads in walk score (75 vs 33). San Marcos leads in median household income ($99,413 vs $75,443).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Gardena, CA	San Marcos, CA
WhereAtHome Score	61.9 (#1883)	62.2 (#1870)
Population	58,377	94,188
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$792,958	$953,736
Median Household Income	$75,443	$99,413
Average Commute	28.4 min	26.7 min
Walk Score	75	33
Crime Level	19.3	6.1
School Rating	N/A	N/A
Cost of Living Index	154	166
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	D+32.9	D+16.8