2025 Compare Cities Rankings:
Raleigh, NC vs Santa Barbara, CA

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Rankings for Raleigh

Raleigh Ranked
#8 Most Competitive Public Colleges
Most Competitive Public Colleges... Read More

Raleigh Ranked
#16 Best Green Cities
Country Home magazine, in conjunction with Sperlings BestPlaces, reveals that Burlington, Vermont is the 2007 Best Green Pla... Read More

Raleigh Ranked
#18 Most Competitive Private Colleges
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Raleigh Ranked
#68 Most Comfortable Summer Cities
When it comes to summer and its accompanying hot weather, there are so many beautiful things - beach days, barbecues, revea... Read More

Rankings for Santa Barbara


Santa Barbara, CA has never been in one of our rankings. Do you think this is a mistake? Tell us what you think is great or not so great about his place.
Reviews for Raleigh    224 Reviews

I moved to Raleigh in 2018. Before that, I lived in Orange County CA, Boulder CO, South Africa, Northern California, Arizona, and Toronto. I say all this to give  More

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Excellent for a great many people or categories of people. As far as prices: ratio of wage and job opportunity here with housing remains one of the better ones in the  More

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Over 2 years ago

I attended university here in the early 90s and came back around 2005 and never left. I'm surprised at the other negative reviews honestly. Yes, housing is pricey in  More

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Reviews for Santa Barbara    51 Reviews

I moved to Santa Barbara around 23 years ago to study at Brooks, which like most of the Santa Barbara that I knew—has been destroyed. Homelessness, drugs, gangs, high  More

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Over 4 years ago

I fell in love with Santa Barbara about thirty years ago and finally moved here a few years ago. Because of the price of homes, it is an expensive place to live. The  More

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If you like high crime, paying a $4,500 a month mortgage and crazy high taxes, this is the place for you. It’s too bad because it wasn’t always like this. When I moved  More

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