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

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Ojai or is it cheaper to live in Santa Cruz?
- Ojai is 17.2% less expensive than Santa Cruz.

Which city has more affordable housing, Ojai or Santa Cruz?
- Ojai housing costs are 28.5% less expensive than Santa Cruz housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Santa Cruz or is Health Care more affordable in Ojai.
- Health related expenses are 3.4% more in Ojai.
 Santa Cruz, CAOjai, CAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock154.0100
 Food & Groceries111.5  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock112.9100
 Housing420.7  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$974,700$338,100
 Utilities94  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock112.8100
 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 Ojai    7 Reviews

Ojai has it's social and environmental challenges. It's population can be insular and self-absorbed. I grew up in Palo Alto and lived in Berkeley in the 70's so I can  More

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Over 10 years ago

Yes, Ojai is pretty geographically but there are a lot of run down neighborhoods. There are no "rules" about keeping your house or yard up and therefore lots of people  More

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Over 11 years ago

From my contacts, this place is my idea of how I want to spend my remaining days on  More

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