2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Santa Cruz, CA vs Columbia, MD

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Columbia or is it cheaper to live in Santa Cruz?
- Columbia is 31.2% less expensive than Santa Cruz.

Which city has more affordable housing, Columbia or Santa Cruz?
- Columbia housing costs are 66.0% less expensive than Santa Cruz housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Santa Cruz or is Health Care more affordable in Columbia.
- Health related expenses are 20.8% less in Columbia.
 Santa Cruz, CAColumbia, MDUnited States
 Overall  Unlock127.9100
 Food & Groceries111.5  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock86.5100
 Housing420.7  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$441,800$338,100
 Utilities94  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock107.9100
 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 Columbia    28 Reviews

Over 5 years ago

Lived here for a while, beautiful opportunities, pays well, overall nice  More

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Been here 30 years was great at first but once they added a transit bus from baltimore to columbia 15-18 years ago that was the beginning of the end. And about 5 years  More

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Columbia can be described in one word: unequal. The neighborhood I live in, River Hill, is jam-packed with almost million-dollar homes, while the neighborhoods of Long  More

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