2025 Compare Cities Rankings:
Pismo Beach, CA vs Santa Cruz, CA

#3 2005 Best Places to Live

#10 Most Competitive Public Colleges

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

#64 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

It's a nice town to visit - although very touristy. Clean air - and nice sand dunes nearby. A variety of housing - but expensive. Good for seafood. I would say  More

It's still challenging to find a good job: Diablo Canyon Nuclear plant has announced it will be closing in 9 years, so many 6-figure incomes will be going along with the  More

Because of fires allowed in campsites each and everyday it is very smokey and hard to  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