Madera, 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.

Madera

65.3

#1641 nationally

San Marcos

62.2

#1870 nationally

San Marcos leads in crime level (6.1 vs 10.8). San Marcos leads in median household income ($99,413 vs $61,626). Madera leads in cost of living index (119 vs 166).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Madera, CA	San Marcos, CA
WhereAtHome Score	65.3 (#1641)	62.2 (#1870)
Population	68,079	94,188
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$426,523	$953,736
Median Household Income	$61,626	$99,413
Average Commute	28.3 min	26.7 min
Walk Score	42	33
Crime Level	10.8	6.1
School Rating	N/A	N/A
Cost of Living Index	119	166
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	R+20.8	D+16.8