2025 Compare Cities Rankings:
Santa Cruz, CA vs Cary, NC

#18 Most Competitive Public Colleges

#27 Best Green Cities

#41 America's Best and Worst Cities for Crime (Mid-Size Metro Areas)

#124 2005 Best Places to Live

#8 Most Competitive Public Colleges

#16 Best Green Cities

#18 Most Competitive Private Colleges

#68 Most Comfortable Summer Cities

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

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

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

Cary is up-and-coming “cool.” The downtown is revitalized and growing. The town takes urban planning very seriously. The home prices have definitely spiked in the last  More

I've lived in NY, CT, MA, and in Miami FL. Now here in Cary NC for the past 10 years. For what I want and need at this phase of my life, I really like it here! All the  More

As a Real Estate Agent, I consider Cary the most central location in the Triangle, it basically takes you twenty minutes to get to Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough,   More