2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Lake Forest, CA vs Mountain View, CA

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Mountain View or is it cheaper to live in Lake Forest?
- Mountain View is 40.1% more expensive than Lake Forest.

Which city has more affordable housing, Mountain View or Lake Forest?
- Mountain View housing costs are 114.9% more expensive than Lake Forest housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Lake Forest or is Health Care more affordable in Mountain View.
- Health related expenses are 15.3% more in Mountain View.
 Lake Forest, CAMountain View, CAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock231.0100
 Food & Groceries103.6  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock107.7100
 Housing300.0  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$1,773,700$338,100
 Utilities102  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock138.6100
 Miscellaneous155.9  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Lake Forest    16 Reviews

I've lived in Lake Forest for over a decade, before that elsewhere in OC and also up in LA. Lake Forest isn't perfect but it's really improved over the past decade,  More

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As a retired senior who has lived in Lake Forest (formerly El Toro) since 1977 I think LF is a great place if you can afford it. When we moved here in June '77 homes  More

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I’ve lived here for 2 years. Ok, it’s more like a 4 but there are so many idiots downplaying what it’s like here and giving Lake Forest ones and twos. There are a lot of  More

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Reviews for Mountain View    15 Reviews

Over 5 years ago

It’s  More

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I've lived here 25 years. Perfect climate. Very central for employment opportunities. Really great schools. 45 min to San Fran, 45 min to Santa Cruz beach. Shoreline  More

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Over 15 years ago

I was born and raised in Mountain View. I used to really like this city, and California. Unfortunately, the city (along with the state) has been over run with high  More

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