2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Santa Cruz, CA vs Cookeville, TN

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

Which city has more affordable housing, Cookeville or Santa Cruz?
- Cookeville housing costs are 81.7% less expensive than Santa Cruz housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Santa Cruz or is Health Care more affordable in Cookeville.
- Health related expenses are 20.4% more in Cookeville.
 Santa Cruz, CACookeville, TNUnited States
 Overall  Unlock87.1100
 Food & Groceries111.5  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock131.5100
 Housing420.7  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$287,300$338,100
 Utilities94  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock67.5100
 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 Cookeville    12 Reviews

Over 3 years ago

I lived in Cookeville for around 7 years non consecutively. Don’t expect to go on a walk here. Sidewalks are fairly abundant but they are not well maintained and there  More

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My wife and I both moved here to work for state government. Other people are right, the pay is awful, hovering around $28k for people with masters and doctorates. Rental  More

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Been here for 4-5 years now, crime is on the rise and pay is stagnant, don't look for much over 28k a year in gross income here. Lots of areas are getting metro  More

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