Population
Palmdale
165,487
Santa Maria
109,880
Median Income
Palmdale
$81,151
Santa Maria
$84,617
Home Value
Palmdale
$435,300
Santa Maria
$478,200
Rent
Palmdale
$1,736
Santa Maria
$1,842
Crime Rate
Palmdale
5.51
Santa Maria
6.61
Cost of Living
Palmdale
153.4
Santa Maria
151.5
Avg Temp
Palmdale
N/A
Santa Maria
N/A
Unemployment
Palmdale
7.4%
Santa Maria
7.1%
How Similar Are Palmdale & Santa Maria?
Santa Maria is Palmdale's #2 most similar city
6 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Palmdale
165,487
Santa Maria
109,880
Palmdale has a 34% larger population than Santa Maria.
Violent Crime
Palmdale
5.51
Santa Maria
6.61
Santa Maria has a 17% higher violent crime than Palmdale.
Property Crime
Palmdale
18.65
Santa Maria
18.83
Both cities have similar property crime — just a 1% difference.
Political Leaning
Palmdale
31.9%
Santa Maria
35.1%
Both cities lean Democratic with similar vote shares — 9% difference.
Unemployment
Palmdale
7.4%
Santa Maria
7.1%
Both cities have similar unemployment — just a 4% difference.
Median Income
Palmdale
$81,151
Santa Maria
$84,617
Both cities have similar median income — just a 4% difference.
Home Values
Palmdale
$435,300
Santa Maria
$478,200
Both cities have similar home values — just a 9% difference.
Education
Palmdale
10.2%
Santa Maria
8.5%
Palmdale has a 17% higher education than Santa Maria.
Demographics
Palmdale
31.8%
Santa Maria
37.0%
Santa Maria has a 14% higher demographics than Palmdale.
Cost of Living
Palmdale
153.4
Santa Maria
151.5
Both cities have similar cost of living — just a 1% difference.
6 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Palmdale and Santa Maria share several key characteristics.
At a Glance
0
Palmdale
0
Santa Maria
Palmdale leads in 3 of 8 categories
Cost of Living & Affordability — Palmdale leads
Source: City Stats Index / HUDSanta Maria scores 108.5 on the transportation index (100 = national avg) vs 152.6 in Palmdale. Palmdale has a fair market rent (1br) of $2,085 vs $2,746 in Santa Maria (24% lower). Palmdale has a fair market rent (2br) of $2,601 vs $3,124 in Santa Maria (17% 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
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSSanta Maria has a median property tax of $3,274 vs $4,248 in Palmdale (30% lower). Palmdale has a owner-occupied of 66.2% compared to 51.2% in Santa Maria. Palmdale has a single-family homes of 80.3% compared to 66.0% in Santa Maria.
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSSanta Maria: 21 min vs Palmdale: 38 min for mean commute. Palmdale has a work from home of 8.3% compared to 5.3% in Santa Maria. Palmdale: 75,364 vs Santa Maria: 53,056 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 — Palmdale leads
Source: FBI UCRSanta Maria has a murder rate (per 1k) of 0.03 compared to 0.06 in Palmdale. Palmdale has a violent crime clearance of 65.5% compared to 33.3% in Santa Maria. Palmdale has a property crime clearance of 17.6% compared to 10.6% in Santa Maria.
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 — Palmdale leads
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauPalmdale has a high school diploma or higher of 29.0% compared to 20.6% in Santa Maria. Palmdale has a bachelor's degree or higher of 10.2% compared to 8.5% in Santa Maria.
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 ACSPalmdale has a population of 165,487, about 1.5x the size of Santa Maria (109,880). Santa Maria skews younger with a median age of 29.3 vs 33.2.
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Palmdale
Santa Maria
Healthcare — Santa Maria leads
Source: CMS Hospital CompareSanta Maria: 5 vs Palmdale: 4 for with emergency services.
Nearby Hospitals
Avg CMS Rating (out of 5)
With Emergency Services
Transportation & Commute — Santa Maria leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSSanta Maria has a bicycle of 0.3% compared to 0.0% in Palmdale. Santa Maria: 21 min vs Palmdale: 38 min for mean commute time. Palmdale has a work from home of 8.3% compared to 5.3% in Santa Maria.
Mean Commute Time
Drive Alone
Public Transit
Bicycle
Work from Home
Airports
Cities Similar to Palmdale, CA
Compare Palmdale 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.