Population
Berkeley
120,223
Santa Monica
91,535
Median Income
Berkeley
$108,558
Santa Monica
$109,739
Home Value
Berkeley
$1,351,100
Santa Monica
$1,810,200
Rent
Berkeley
$2,127
Santa Monica
$2,338
Crime Rate
Berkeley
6.40
Santa Monica
7.82
Cost of Living
Berkeley
233.6
Santa Monica
241.2
Avg Temp
Berkeley
N/A
Santa Monica
N/A
Unemployment
Berkeley
6.0%
Santa Monica
6.1%
How Similar Are Berkeley & Santa Monica?
Santa Monica is Berkeley's #4 most similar city
4 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Berkeley
120,223
Santa Monica
91,535
Berkeley has a 24% larger population than Santa Monica.
Violent Crime
Berkeley
6.40
Santa Monica
7.82
Santa Monica has a 18% higher violent crime than Berkeley.
Property Crime
Berkeley
52.29
Santa Monica
47.90
Both cities have similar property crime — just a 8% difference.
Political Leaning
Berkeley
21.0%
Santa Monica
31.9%
Both cities lean Democratic, but Santa Monica has a stronger Democratic lean (34% difference).
Unemployment
Berkeley
6.0%
Santa Monica
6.1%
Both cities have similar unemployment — just a 1% difference.
Median Income
Berkeley
$108,558
Santa Monica
$109,739
Both cities have similar median income — just a 1% difference.
Home Values
Berkeley
$1,351,100
Santa Monica
$1,810,200
Santa Monica has a 25% higher home values than Berkeley.
Education
Berkeley
47.7%
Santa Monica
55.4%
Santa Monica has a 14% higher education than Berkeley.
Demographics
Berkeley
54.8%
Santa Monica
66.9%
Santa Monica has a 18% higher demographics than Berkeley.
Cost of Living
Berkeley
233.6
Santa Monica
241.2
Both cities have similar cost of living — just a 3% difference.
4 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Berkeley and Santa Monica share several key characteristics.
At a Glance
0
Berkeley
0
Santa Monica
Santa Monica leads in 4 of 8 categories
Cost of Living & Affordability — Berkeley leads
Source: City Stats Index / HUDBerkeley scores 121.0 on the transportation index (100 = national avg) vs 167.8 in Santa Monica. Santa Monica has a fair market rent (1br) of $2,085 vs $2,385 in Berkeley (14% lower). Santa Monica has a fair market rent (2br) of $2,601 vs $2,912 in Berkeley (12% lower).
Overall Cost Index
Housing Index
Food Index
Transportation Index
Healthcare Index
Utilities Index
Living Wage (1 Adult)
Living Wage (Family of 4)
Fair Market Rent (1BR)
Fair Market Rent (2BR)
Housing Market — Berkeley leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSBerkeley has a single-family homes of 44.0% compared to 22.6% in Santa Monica. Berkeley has a owner-occupied of 43.3% compared to 28.8% in Santa Monica. Santa Monica has a median home value of $1,810,200 vs $1,351,100 in Berkeley (25% higher).
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy — Santa Monica leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSSanta Monica has a poverty rate of 11.6% compared to 16.8% in Berkeley. Santa Monica has a per capita income of $90,657 vs $66,936 in Berkeley (26% higher). Berkeley: 66,168 vs Santa Monica: 54,093 for labor force.
Median Household Income
Per Capita Income
Poverty Rate
Unemployment Rate
Labor Force
Mean Commute
Work from Home
Private Sector
Government Sector
Crime & Safety — Santa Monica leads
Source: FBI UCRSanta Monica has a murder rate (per 1k) of 0.04 compared to 0.06 in Berkeley. Santa Monica has a property crime clearance of 11.9% compared to 8.6% in Berkeley. Santa Monica has a violent crime clearance of 49.7% compared to 36.1% in Berkeley.
Violent Crime Rate (per 1K)
Property Crime Rate (per 1K)
Murder Rate (per 1K)
Robbery Rate (per 1K)
Assault Rate (per 1K)
Burglary Rate (per 1K)
Larceny Rate (per 1K)
Violent Crime Clearance
Property Crime Clearance
Weather & Climate
Source: NOAA / Open-MeteoAvg Annual Temperature
Avg Annual High
Avg Annual Low
Sunny Days per Year
Annual Rainfall
Annual Snowfall
Avg Humidity
Schools & Education — Santa Monica leads
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauSanta Monica has a high school diploma or higher of 62.3% compared to 51.9% in Berkeley. Santa Monica has a bachelor's degree or higher of 55.4% compared to 47.7% in Berkeley.
Public Schools
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio
Colleges & Universities
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
High School Diploma or Higher
Demographics & Community
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSBerkeley has a population of 120,223, about 1.3x the size of Santa Monica (91,535). Berkeley skews younger with a median age of 32.9 vs 42.9.
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Berkeley
Santa Monica
Healthcare — Santa Monica leads
Source: CMS Hospital CompareSanta Monica: 3.8 vs Berkeley: 3.3 for avg cms rating (out of 5).
Nearby Hospitals
Avg CMS Rating (out of 5)
With Emergency Services
Transportation & Commute
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSBerkeley has a public transit of 15.8% compared to 2.8% in Santa Monica. Berkeley has a bicycle of 4.8% compared to 2.7% in Santa Monica. Santa Monica has a drive alone of 50.6% compared to 27.4% in Berkeley.
Mean Commute Time
Drive Alone
Public Transit
Bicycle
Work from Home
Airports
Cities Similar to Berkeley, CA
Compare Berkeley against its closest statistical matches across demographics, income, crime, health, and more.
City Comparison
8-axis fingerprint: population, income, housing, crime, education, age, climate, and cost of living. Click legend items to toggle.