2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Santa Cruz, CA vs Laguna Hills, CA

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Laguna Hills or is it cheaper to live in Santa Cruz?
- Laguna Hills is 11.3% less expensive than Santa Cruz.

Which city has more affordable housing, Laguna Hills or Santa Cruz?
- Laguna Hills housing costs are 26.6% less expensive than Santa Cruz housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Santa Cruz or is Health Care more affordable in Laguna Hills.
- Health related expenses are 14.5% less in Laguna Hills.
 Santa Cruz, CALaguna Hills, CAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock164.9100
 Food & Groceries111.5  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock93.4100
 Housing420.7  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$993,700$338,100
 Utilities94  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock109.9100
 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 Laguna Hills    6 Reviews

We have lived in Orange County since the 70’s and moved to Laguna Hills in 1999. Since then our 1800 square foot house purchased for $300K has appreciated to over $700K.  More

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We have lived in Orange County since the 70’s and moved to Laguna Hills in 1999. Since then our 1800 square foot house purchased for $300K has appreciated to over $700K.  More

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I have been a resident of Laguna Hills since 1994. When I moved here it was actually less expensive than the Long Beach area where I was living. Now it is more expensive  More

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