2025 Compare Cities Rankings:
Ashland, OR vs Santa Cruz, CA

#20 America's Most (and Least) Stressful Cities (117 Smallest Metro Areas)

#38 Best Green Cities

#70 America's Best and Worst Cities for Crime (Smallest Metro Areas)

#72 2005 Best Places to Live

#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

Really nice weather and a cool town and is great for people who love the outdoors with the nearby Rogue River and abundant mountain biking and hiking trails but is a  More

I've lived in Ashland, OR for 13 years, and I love it. The winters are the mildest I've ever experienced. We get 196 sunny days per year. Lithia Park near  More

Sorry, Ashland. I've lived here on and off since 2001. The prices have gone utterly berserk. The town is smoky in the summer, cold and wet in the winter, and totally  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