Irvine, CA vs Santa Rosa, 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.

Irvine

67.2

#1452 nationally

Santa Rosa

66.2

#1577 nationally

Irvine leads in median household income ($116,519 vs $92,604). Santa Rosa leads in average commute (22.7 min vs 25.8 min). Santa Rosa leads in cost of living index (163 vs 178).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Irvine, CA	Santa Rosa, CA
WhereAtHome Score	67.2 (#1452)	66.2 (#1577)
Population	307,670	175,845
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$1,517,431	$715,976
Median Household Income	$116,519	$92,604
Average Commute	25.8 min	22.7 min
Walk Score	44	47
Crime Level	Very Low	9.4
School Rating	9.5	N/A
Cost of Living Index	178	163
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	D+2.6	D+46.2