2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Santa Barbara, CA vs Seattle, WA

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Seattle or is it cheaper to live in Santa Barbara?
- Seattle is 2.2% more expensive than Santa Barbara.

Which city has more affordable housing, Seattle or Santa Barbara?
- Seattle housing costs are 38.8% less expensive than Santa Barbara housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Santa Barbara or is Health Care more affordable in Seattle.
- Health related expenses are 22.1% less in Seattle.
 Santa Barbara, CASeattle, WAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock158.1100
 Food & Groceries113.8  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock88.2100
 Housing476.7  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$823,900$338,100
 Utilities90  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock137.5100
 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 Seattle    321 Reviews

I have lived here since 1975, I moved here from California but was born and raised in Michigan. I would have to say that I never regretted leaving Michigan and their  More

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Over 3 years ago

I’ve lived in Seattle for just under 7 years and while it can be a stunningly beautiful place, I am very excited to leave. I’ll start with some of the positive aspects.  More

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if you can afford it, Seattle is a very nice place to live and raise a family! however, it is extremely expensive and in the winter, it's rather gloomy. i love gloomy  More

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