Madera, CA vs Santa Cruz, 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.

Madera

65.3

#1641 nationally

Santa Cruz

60.5

#1932 nationally

Madera leads in cost of living index (119 vs 205). Santa Cruz leads in median household income ($105,491 vs $61,626). Madera leads in crime level (10.8 vs 16.8).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Madera, CA	Santa Cruz, CA
WhereAtHome Score	65.3 (#1641)	60.5 (#1932)
Population	68,079	61,501
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$426,523	$1,360,355
Median Household Income	$61,626	$105,491
Average Commute	28.3 min	22.2 min
Walk Score	42	63
Crime Level	10.8	16.8
School Rating	N/A	N/A
Cost of Living Index	119	205
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	R+20.8	D+54.4