2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Santa Cruz, CA vs Birmingham, AL

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Birmingham or is it cheaper to live in Santa Cruz?
- Birmingham is 53.2% less expensive than Santa Cruz.

Which city has more affordable housing, Birmingham or Santa Cruz?
- Birmingham housing costs are 93.6% less expensive than Santa Cruz housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Santa Cruz or is Health Care more affordable in Birmingham.
- Health related expenses are 11.7% more in Birmingham.
 Santa Cruz, CABirmingham, ALUnited States
 Overall  Unlock87.0100
 Food & Groceries111.5  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock122.0100
 Housing420.7  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$101,300$338,100
 Utilities94  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock88.4100
 Miscellaneous155.7  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Santa Cruz    44 Reviews

I lived in the Santa Cruz area for 20 years. UCSC alum. Our kids were born there. There are wonderful things about Santa Cruz, but also many serious problems that we  More

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Over 5 years ago

I have been here for four generations! My kids are the fifth. I guess that should tell you how wonderful it is here, at least for us. It's so cool to have world class  More

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I was born over the hill in San Jose area, and as a kid I loved coming over to the boardwalk. Santa Cruz has always been and always will be a town of diversity,  More

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Reviews for Birmingham    25 Reviews

Birmingham is better than ever, meaning it is beginning to gain half of the stuff a normal city of its size has. The food scene is definitely an exception and is above  More

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Lived in the Birmingham for years. The small city was divided by the historical train tracks into the north half and the south one. The north section was the  More

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Over 5 years ago

I moved to Birmingham 6.5 years ago for a new job. The city is very boring in my opinion, there isn't much to do over the weekend except shopping or eating out. Summer  More

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