2025 Compare Cities Rankings:
Chapel Hill, NC vs Santa Cruz, CA

#8 Most Competitive Public Colleges

#16 Best Green Cities

#18 Most Competitive Private Colleges

#68 Most Comfortable Summer 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

Between my wife and I, we've lived in Raleigh, Cary, Durham, and Chapel Hill, and it's Chapel Hill we prefer. Franklin Street is always lively with an eclectic mix of  More

I am not sure if Bert has actually been to the Triangle, but for starters, Durham, as Chapel Hill residents know and envy, is and has been for 5 yrs now a vibrant  More

someone told me they live in the hills/mountains right near chapel hill, and the summers are much cooler there, while the town itself is easily accessible. is this  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