Merced, CA vs Spanish Fork, UT

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.

Merced

64.3

#1702 nationally

Spanish Fork

72.6

#866 nationally

Spanish Fork leads in crime level (2.1 vs 21.5). Spanish Fork leads in median household income ($93,989 vs $59,233). Merced leads in walk score (42 vs 30).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Merced, CA	Spanish Fork, UT
WhereAtHome Score	64.3 (#1702)	72.6 (#866)
Population	93,692	45,557
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$397,570	$520,115
Median Household Income	$59,233	$93,989
Average Commute	27 min	20.2 min
Walk Score	42	30
Crime Level	21.5	2.1
School Rating	N/A	N/A
Cost of Living Index	121	118
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	R+4.4	R+39.8