Population
Santa Cruz
60,953
Huntington Beach
196,010
Median Income
Santa Cruz
$111,427
Huntington Beach
$119,885
Home Value
Santa Cruz
$1,180,100
Huntington Beach
$1,047,300
Rent
Santa Cruz
$2,302
Huntington Beach
$2,424
Crime Rate
Santa Cruz
6.13
Huntington Beach
2.07
Cost of Living
Santa Cruz
225.2
Huntington Beach
225.4
Avg Temp
Santa Cruz
N/A
Huntington Beach
N/A
Unemployment
Santa Cruz
6.3%
Huntington Beach
5.4%
How Similar Are Santa Cruz & Huntington Beach?
Huntington Beach is Santa Cruz's #25 most similar city
4 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Santa Cruz
60,953
Huntington Beach
196,010
Huntington Beach (196,010) is about 3.2x larger than Santa Cruz (60,953).
Violent Crime
Santa Cruz
6.13
Huntington Beach
2.07
Santa Cruz's violent crime is significantly higher than Huntington Beach's — 66% difference.
Property Crime
Santa Cruz
25.15
Huntington Beach
19.89
Santa Cruz has a 21% higher property crime than Huntington Beach.
Political Leaning
Santa Cruz
20.9%
Huntington Beach
47.1%
Both cities lean Democratic, but Huntington Beach has a stronger Democratic lean (56% difference).
Unemployment
Santa Cruz
6.3%
Huntington Beach
5.4%
Santa Cruz has a 14% higher unemployment than Huntington Beach.
Median Income
Santa Cruz
$111,427
Huntington Beach
$119,885
Both cities have similar median income — just a 7% difference.
Home Values
Santa Cruz
$1,180,100
Huntington Beach
$1,047,300
Santa Cruz has a 11% higher home values than Huntington Beach.
Education
Santa Cruz
33.5%
Huntington Beach
35.1%
Both cities have similar education — just a 4% difference.
Demographics
Santa Cruz
65.8%
Huntington Beach
64.3%
Both cities have similar demographics — just a 2% difference.
Cost of Living
Santa Cruz
225.2
Huntington Beach
225.4
Both cities have similar cost of living — just a 0% difference.
4 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Santa Cruz and Huntington Beach share several key characteristics.
At a Glance
0
Santa Cruz
0
Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach leads in 3 of 8 categories
Cost of Living & Affordability
Source: City Stats Index / HUDHuntington Beach has a fair market rent (2br) of $3,236 vs $4,214 in Santa Cruz (30% lower). Huntington Beach has a fair market rent (1br) of $2,746 vs $3,298 in Santa Cruz (20% lower). Santa Cruz scores 117.6 on the transportation index (100 = national avg) vs 135.7 in Huntington Beach.
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 ACSHuntington Beach has a vacancy rate of 5.2% compared to 8.9% in Santa Cruz. Huntington Beach has a owner-occupied of 55.8% compared to 47.7% in Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz has a median home value of $1,180,100 vs $1,047,300 in Huntington Beach (13% higher).
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy — Huntington Beach leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSHuntington Beach has a poverty rate of 7.5% compared to 17.6% in Santa Cruz. Huntington Beach: 109,588 vs Santa Cruz: 33,751 for labor force. Santa Cruz: 18 min vs Huntington Beach: 23 min for mean commute.
Median Household Income
Per Capita Income
Poverty Rate
Unemployment Rate
Labor Force
Mean Commute
Work from Home
Private Sector
Government Sector
Crime & Safety — Huntington Beach leads
Source: FBI UCRHuntington Beach has a assault rate (per 1k) of 1.19 compared to 4.63 in Santa Cruz. Huntington Beach has a violent crime rate (per 1k) of 2.07 compared to 6.13 in Santa Cruz. Huntington Beach has a robbery rate (per 1k) of 0.51 compared to 1.03 in Santa Cruz.
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 — Huntington Beach leads
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauHuntington Beach has a high school diploma or higher of 47.1% compared to 39.5% in Santa Cruz. Huntington Beach has a bachelor's degree or higher of 35.1% compared to 33.5% in Santa Cruz.
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 ACSHuntington Beach has a population of 196,010, about 3.2x the size of Santa Cruz (60,953). Santa Cruz skews younger with a median age of 30.7 vs 43.4.
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Santa Cruz
Huntington Beach
Healthcare
Source: CMS Hospital CompareHuntington Beach: 4 vs Santa Cruz: 3 for with emergency services. Santa Cruz: 3.0 vs Huntington Beach: 2.5 for avg cms rating (out of 5).
Nearby Hospitals
Avg CMS Rating (out of 5)
With Emergency Services
Transportation & Commute — Santa Cruz leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSSanta Cruz has a public transit of 4.8% compared to 0.5% in Huntington Beach. Santa Cruz has a bicycle of 5.2% compared to 0.6% in Huntington Beach. Huntington Beach has a drive alone of 70.6% compared to 53.0% in Santa Cruz.
Mean Commute Time
Drive Alone
Public Transit
Bicycle
Work from Home
Airports
Cities Similar to Santa Cruz, CA
Compare Santa Cruz 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.