2025 Compare Cities Rankings:
Santa Cruz, CA vs Meridian, ID

#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

#11 Most Secure Large Cities in the U.S.

#21 Most Popular Cities for the Holidays

#41 America's Migraine Hot Spots

#46 Drought-Riskiest Cities

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

#53 Most Comfortable Summer Cities

#68 2005 Best Places to Live

#168 Best Green 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

New to the area and so far we think it's a great place to live compared to Denver, where we moved from. Quality of life is so much better here! A lot less traffic than  More

I have been here since 2013 and have watched child after child be diagnosed with Cancer. Many of the children have been diagnosed with "rare" Cancers. It has been  More

It has changed a lot over the years... Crime rates are still low and people are overall still nice HOWEVER way too many people are moving to my wonderful town! All the  More