2025 Compare Cities Overview:
Santa Barbara, CA vs East Lansing, MI

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Highlights
Are people in East Lansing older or younger than people in Santa Barbara?
- The Median Age in East Lansing is 17.7 years younger than in Santa Barbara.

Are housing costs cheaper in East Lansing or Santa Barbara?
- East Lansing housing costs are 82.7% less expensive than Santa Barbara housing costs.

Which city has a longer commute, East Lansing or Santa Barbara?
- The average commute for residents of East Lansing is 1.5 minutes shorter than it is for residents of Santa Barbara.

Things to do in Santa Barbara?
Santa Barbara, California has something for everyone - from fantastic beaches to world-class shopping and dining experiences. Visitors can explore Old Mission Santa Barbara or take part in various water activities around Stearns Wharf.

Things to do in East Lansing?
East Lansing MI sits adjacent to Michigan State University’s sprawling campus making it an ideal place for students attending one largest universities in the country boasting more than 50 thousand undergraduate students alone giving East Lansing an estimated 48 thousand permanent residents that call it home throughout the year. Despite its mostly college atmosphere there are plenty more options available ranging from residential housing all around the area perfect suburban settings or urban apartments right on MSU campus itself allowing those to explore different lifestyle choices depending on preferences or budget limitations if any were present at all!

 Santa Barbara, CAEast Lansing, MIUnited States
 Population  Unlock47,427329,725,481
 Median Income$89,243  Unlock$69,021
 Median Age  Unlock21.438.4
 Avg. Home Price$1,525,500  Unlock$338,100
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock3.7%6.0%
 Avg. Commute Time17.15  Unlock26.38
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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Reviews for East Lansing    4 Reviews

East Lansing is a wonderful, lively, youthful college town that has gotten better over time. You feel the strong Spartan Spirit everywhere as students, alumni and locals  More

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East Lansing is noted for being the home of one of the first Land Grant colleges -- Michigan State University. MSU has an large campus with an enormous area of land  More

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Over 17 years ago

East Lansing is a very pretty town. The town has had frequent problems with student rioters. Overall 60% of the town is composed of students. I would recommend East  More

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