2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Rancho Mirage, CA vs Santa Barbara, CA

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Santa Barbara or is it cheaper to live in Rancho Mirage?
- Santa Barbara is 17.9% more expensive than Rancho Mirage.

Which city has more affordable housing, Santa Barbara or Rancho Mirage?
- Santa Barbara housing costs are 106.5% more expensive than Rancho Mirage housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Rancho Mirage or is Health Care more affordable in Santa Barbara.
- Health related expenses are 29.7% more in Santa Barbara.
 Rancho Mirage, CASanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock154.7100
 Food & Groceries101.5  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock113.2100
 Housing230.8  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$1,525,500$338,100
 Utilities107  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock97.0100
 Miscellaneous112.2  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Rancho Mirage    3 Reviews

There are some commendable features in the city. The roads are in much better shape than surrounding towns. The road verge along city maintained streets has an  More

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Over 9 years ago

I received my property tax bill the other day. I was surprised to see it had increased by nearly two thousand dollars. I called the county and was told that the value of  More

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We chose Rancho Mirage for its centrality in the Inland Empire. With a populaltion under 20,000, it has a small community feel. However, it is surrounded by some  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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