Santa Ana, California
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Santa Ana.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Santa Ana compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 311,639City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $88,354Incorporated place (ACS)12% above U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 182ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)82% above U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $657,800City limits (ACS)117% above U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,975City limits (ACS)47% above U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 3.5%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 27 min8% above U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 6749% above U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 435.5annualized per 100k · citywide28% below U.S. avgU.S. 602.7
- Property crime rate
- 2040.4annualized per 100k · citywide34% below U.S. avgU.S. 3084.9
- Summer high
- 78°F9.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 49°F15.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 11.2 in66% below U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 32422% above U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Santa Ana with another city
Pacific weather, wildfire seasons, and housing scarcity dominate relocation tradeoffs. Roughly 324 sunny days a year give outdoor routines unusual calendar reliability. Average one-way commute time is about 27 minutes, and Walk Score estimates land around 67/100. Labor-market readings near 3.5% unemployment are neither boom nor bust by national standards. Violent-offense rates near 435.5 per 100k sit in a mid-to-elevated band versus many peer cities in this catalog.
Santa Ana, California counts about 311,639 residents inside the city limits. With median income around $88,354 and a cost index of 182, the market reads well above the national housing-cost baseline. A typical home near $657,800 and rents around $1,975 frame most shortlists.
Santa Ana is compact enough that a single wrong neighborhood choice is easy to feel day to day — visit at commute hour before signing. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Santa Ana with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-year (Santa Ana city, 1600000US0669000)
- BLS: BLS LAUS LAUCN060590000000003 (Orange County, May 2026)
- Crime: FBI CIUS Table 8 (2019) city offenses known to law enforcement — rates per 100k; CDE API unavailable at enrich time
- Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 Monthly Normals (USW00093184 SANTA ANA JOHN WAYNE AP)
Last updated 2026-07-28