2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Santa Rosa, CA vs Lake Forest, IL

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Lake Forest or is it cheaper to live in Santa Rosa?
- Lake Forest is 36.1% less expensive than Santa Rosa.

Which city has more affordable housing, Lake Forest or Santa Rosa?
- Lake Forest housing costs are 27.5% more expensive than Santa Rosa housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Santa Rosa or is Health Care more affordable in Lake Forest.
- Health related expenses are 12.7% less in Lake Forest.
 Santa Rosa, CALake Forest, ILUnited States
 Overall  Unlock97.0100
 Food & Groceries109.8  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock96.3100
 Housing223.9  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$898,600$338,100
 Utilities100  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock93.7100
 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 Lake Forest    4 Reviews

We relocated cross county to Lake Forest about a year ago due to a job change. We looked at nearby communities, within proximity of the work commute (the office is in  More

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Be prepared for a so called upscale town with entitled, overpaid, snooty people from teenagers who sneer at you to adults who look you up and down, who make demands on a  More

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Over 15 years ago

Long cold winters, short cold springs, hot humid summers, nice  More

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