Gilroy, CA vs Petaluma, 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.

Gilroy

60.4

#1936 nationally

Petaluma

63.2

#1792 nationally

Petaluma leads in crime level (7.4 vs 12.6). Gilroy leads in median household income ($127,391 vs $108,527). Petaluma leads in average commute (30.5 min vs 34.1 min).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Gilroy, CA	Petaluma, CA
WhereAtHome Score	60.4 (#1936)	63.2 (#1792)
Population	58,250	58,800
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$1,052,956	$903,171
Median Household Income	$127,391	$108,527
Average Commute	34.1 min	30.5 min
Walk Score	47	47
Crime Level	12.6	7.4
School Rating	N/A	N/A
Cost of Living Index	181	178
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	D+40.0	D+46.2