2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Fairfax, VA vs San Marcos, CA

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in San Marcos or is it cheaper to live in Fairfax?
- San Marcos is 8.8% more expensive than Fairfax.

Which city has more affordable housing, San Marcos or Fairfax?
- San Marcos housing costs are 16.2% more expensive than Fairfax housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Fairfax or is Health Care more affordable in San Marcos.
- Health related expenses are 13.3% less in San Marcos.
 Fairfax, VASan Marcos, CAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock154.9100
 Food & Groceries114.1  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock89.0100
 Housing223.8  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$813,500$338,100
 Utilities97  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock122.9100
 Miscellaneous145.6  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Fairfax    28 Reviews

I lived in the area for 17 years through high school until I eventually became a truck driver. Having now seen most states extensively, I wanted to fairly review what  More

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Living in Fairfax, or any of the Northern Virginia suburbs of DC, means dealing with highways that are a Gordian knot of converging lanes and overpasses, making long  More

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Over 10 years ago

The Cost of living here is high. Though the standard of living is also high, unless you're making over 50,000/year, it's difficult to both live and build any sort of  More

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Reviews for San Marcos    5 Reviews

Just an amazing place to live. I have lived in 7 states and almost countless cities. Sam Marcos is one of the best. This is literally the longest place I have lived  More

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Over 15 years ago

Is this area to expensive for the average income retired  More

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Over 18 years ago

Beautiful Mediterranean climate with bright sunshine and ocean breazes. City is just 15 minutes away from the  More

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