2026 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Santa Rosa, CA vs Imperial Beach, CA

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Imperial Beach or is it cheaper to live in Santa Rosa?
- Imperial Beach is 2.0% more expensive than Santa Rosa.

Which city has more affordable housing, Imperial Beach or Santa Rosa?
- Imperial Beach housing costs are 14.9% more expensive than Santa Rosa housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Santa Rosa or is Health Care more affordable in Imperial Beach.
- Health related expenses are 19.3% less in Imperial Beach.
 Santa Rosa, CAImperial Beach, CAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock154.9100
 Food & Groceries109.8  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock89.0100
 Housing223.9  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$804,700$338,100
 Utilities100  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock125.6100
 Miscellaneous153.3  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Santa Rosa    43 Reviews

I was born and raised here. Santa Rosa used to be a great city great location great weather but now it is overcrowded and crime is off the charts and housing is crazy  More

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I've lived her over 20 years and it's a pretty nice place. The main vibe is you feel safe doing this day or night. Most of the neighborhoods are well taken care of, they  More

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Terrible city that's hurting for money. After going on a long hiatus from enforcing traffic laws, they've recently turned their highways into an ATM machine/cash cow by  More

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Reviews for Imperial Beach    5 Reviews

Over 14 years ago

In my opinion, imperial beach is the best place to live. IB is the perfect place to raise a family. It has the perfect amount of the good and the bad.  More

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My wife and I moved here from Chula Vista, CA before we knew she was pregnant, attracted by the opportunity to live right near the ocean; in a small, albeit somewhat  More

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Over 20 years ago

Come live in San Diego's most affordable beach community...Imperial  More

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