San Rafael, CA vs Vista, 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.

San Rafael

58.5

#1954 nationally

Vista

63.3

#1784 nationally

Vista leads in crime level (8.7 vs 15.3). Vista leads in cost of living index (158 vs 213). San Rafael leads in median household income ($113,839 vs $88,715).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	San Rafael, CA	Vista, CA
WhereAtHome Score	58.5 (#1954)	63.3 (#1784)
Population	59,555	98,344
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$1,332,023	$879,716
Median Household Income	$113,839	$88,715
Average Commute	27.5 min	27.1 min
Walk Score	53	46
Crime Level	15.3	8.7
School Rating	N/A	N/A
Cost of Living Index	213	158
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	D+63.9	D+16.8