Merced, CA vs St. Charles, IL

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.

Merced

64.3

#1702 nationally

St. Charles

73.3

#762 nationally

St. Charles leads in crime level (2.5 vs 21.5). St. Charles leads in median household income ($110,346 vs $59,233). Merced leads in walk score (42 vs 37).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Merced, CA	St. Charles, IL
WhereAtHome Score	64.3 (#1702)	73.3 (#762)
Population	93,692	32,654
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$397,570	$482,151
Median Household Income	$59,233	$110,346
Average Commute	27 min	28.4 min
Walk Score	42	37
Crime Level	21.5	2.5
School Rating	N/A	N/A
Cost of Living Index	121	118
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	R+4.4	D+9.4