2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Santa Barbara, CA vs Monterey Park, CA

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Monterey Park or is it cheaper to live in Santa Barbara?
- Monterey Park is 4.5% more expensive than Santa Barbara.

Which city has more affordable housing, Monterey Park or Santa Barbara?
- Monterey Park housing costs are 45.6% less expensive than Santa Barbara housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Santa Barbara or is Health Care more affordable in Monterey Park.
- Health related expenses are 23.4% less in Monterey Park.
 Santa Barbara, CAMonterey Park, CAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock161.7100
 Food & Groceries113.8  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock86.7100
 Housing476.7  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$864,800$338,100
 Utilities90  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock159.6100
 Miscellaneous142.5  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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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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Reviews for Monterey Park    2 Reviews

Over 7 years ago

I have lived and raised three children in Monterey Park since 1997. I chose to live here because it is a small and quiet town within range of busy LA. The city has a low  More

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Over 17 years ago

Monterey park is not a bad place to live especially if you are Asian, I'm not...but It's a safe area to live in, in L.A. only 8 minutes to downtown very close to  More

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