2025 Compare Cities Rankings:
Ames, IA vs Santa Cruz, CA

#12 Emerging Metropolitan Areas

#39 Best Green Cities

#18 Most Competitive Public Colleges

#27 Best Green Cities

#41 America's Best and Worst Cities for Crime (Mid-Size Metro Areas)

#124 2005 Best Places to Live

Hello, I am in San Jose Ca, but am seriously thinking of moving somewhere much slower for a better quality of living. I've just turned 59, so I'm kinda preparing for  More

Like every other city Ames has both good and bad points. The good points are: low cost of living, very friendly people, lots of outdoor activities and quite a few events  More

Ames enjoys a high quality of life at a very affordable cost, substantially lower than many other communities. The presence of Iowa State University, a large (28,000  More

I lived in the Santa Cruz area for 20 years. UCSC alum. Our kids were born there. There are wonderful things about Santa Cruz, but also many serious problems that we  More

I have been here for four generations! My kids are the fifth. I guess that should tell you how wonderful it is here, at least for us. It's so cool to have world class  More

I was born over the hill in San Jose area, and as a kid I loved coming over to the boardwalk. Santa Cruz has always been and always will be a town of diversity,  More