2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Santa Rosa, CA vs San Jose, CA

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in San Jose or is it cheaper to live in Santa Rosa?
- San Jose is 52.2% more expensive than Santa Rosa.

Which city has more affordable housing, San Jose or Santa Rosa?
- San Jose housing costs are 91.4% more expensive than Santa Rosa housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Santa Rosa or is Health Care more affordable in San Jose.
- Health related expenses are 2.4% less in San Jose.
 Santa Rosa, CASan Jose, CAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock231.0100
 Food & Groceries109.8  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock107.7100
 Housing223.9  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$1,184,400$338,100
 Utilities100  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock151.0100
 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 San Jose    90 Reviews

I've lived in west San Jose/Cambrian, between Los Gatos and Almaden SJ since 1997. This side of town somehow avoided the erosion of the American dream. Houses are  More

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I lived in San Jose for 40 years. That’s during the most exciting time when the Silicon Valley was booming with real technology and San Jose was ranked as the safest big  More

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Over 4 years ago

I've lived in San Jose, CA for 25 years. This city is being over run with crime and gangs. The cost of living is very high. Granted, you are so close to mountains,  More

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