Durham, NC vs Santee, 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.

Durham

69.4

#1213 nationally

Santee

63.4

#1773 nationally

Durham leads in cost of living index (102 vs 154). Santee leads in median household income ($101,777 vs $67,432). Durham leads in average commute (22.8 min vs 28.6 min).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Durham, NC	Santee, CA
WhereAtHome Score	69.4 (#1213)	63.4 (#1773)
Population	283,506	59,478
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$395,976	$795,105
Median Household Income	$67,432	$101,777
Average Commute	22.8 min	28.6 min
Walk Score	33	35
Crime Level	Moderate	7.0
School Rating	6.4	N/A
Cost of Living Index	102	154
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	D+61.9	D+16.8