Santa Cruz composite
39.1 /100
Grade C- · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Santa Cruz vs Wildwood
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA and Wildwood-The Villages, FL side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 39.1
- Santa Cruz Life Score
- C-
- Santa Cruz grade
- 71.6
- Wildwood Life Score
- A+
- Wildwood grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Santa Cruz scores higher on 2 (wages, schools) and Wildwood on 5 (cost of living, rent, safety, childcare, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Santa Cruz vs Wildwood across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Santa Cruz Wildwood ◗
cost of living
3
98
wages
96
47
rent
0
48
safety
9
83
schools
96
88
childcare
4
46
environment
80
97
Santa Cruz and Wildwood differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Santa Cruz has a cost-of-living index of 109.9 vs Wildwood's 85.4 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $80,687 in Santa Cruz and $63,776 in Wildwood. A 2-bedroom averages $4,214/mo vs $1,328/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Santa Cruz vs Wildwood Comparison
Santa Cruz (CA) and Wildwood (FL) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 109.9 for Santa Cruz against 85.4 for Wildwood, a 24.5-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $4,214/mo in Santa Cruz and $1,328/mo in Wildwood, a $2,886/mo difference that compounds to $34,632 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $80,687 across 91,730 jobs in Santa Cruz against $63,776 across 34,870 jobs in Wildwood. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Santa Cruz carries the same local purchasing power as $77,732 in Wildwood - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 476.8 per 100,000 residents in CA vs 210.3 in FL, with property-crime rates of 1985.9 and 1030.0 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: CA lists 10,006 public schools at a 21.5:1 student-teacher ratio, while FL lists 4,029 schools at 17.8:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $17,920/yr in the Santa Cruz area versus $10,505/yr in Wildwood - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Santa Cruz and Wildwood are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Wildwood composite
71.6 /100
Grade A+ · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
24.5 pts
Santa Cruz vs Wildwood BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$2,886 /mo
Santa Cruz priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz composite (Grade C-)
Wildwood
Wildwood composite (Grade A+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Santa Cruz | Wildwood |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 109.9 | 85.4 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 96.2 |
| Services | 152.7 | 89.0 |
| Rents | 164.3 | 51.7 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Wildwood gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Santa Cruz?
$
Equivalent in Wildwood:
$77,732
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Santa Cruz: 109.9, Wildwood: 85.4, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Santa Cruz | Wildwood |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $3,179/mo | $1,076/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $3,298/mo | $1,139/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $4,214/mo | $1,328/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $5,377/mo | $1,655/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $5,659/mo | $1,937/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Santa Cruz | Wildwood |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $80,687 | $63,776 |
| Total Employment | 91,730 | 34,870 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Santa Cruz (CA) | Wildwood (FL) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 476.8 | 210.3 |
| Property Crime | 1985.9 | 1030.0 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | CA | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 10,006 | 4,029 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 21.5:1 | 17.8:1 |
| Charter Schools | 12.8% | 17.9% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | CA | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $17,920/yr | $10,505/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $12,300/yr | $8,611/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $11,385/yr | $7,983/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | CA | FL |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 1,426 | 864 |
| Water Systems | 3,077 | 1,516 |
| Superfund Sites | 116 | 81 |
| Water Violations | 17,550 | 2,676 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Santa Cruz | Wildwood |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 39.0 | 41.0 |
| Good Air Days | 80.0% | 76.6% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 0 days | N/A |
Wildwood air quality shown at state level. Santa Cruz has metro-level data.
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | CA | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 14/100 | 9/100 |
| Total Violations | 153,308 | 184,355 |
| Health-Based Violations | 63,983 | 24,266 |
| Systems with Violations | 89.2% | 93.2% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | CA | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 1,574 | 612 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | CA | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 12/100 | 29/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 88.7 | 75.7 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 87.9 | 72.9 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Santa Cruz more expensive than Wildwood? ▼
Santa Cruz has a cost of living index of 109.9 compared to Wildwood's 85.4 (national average = 100). Santa Cruz is 24.5 points above Wildwood on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Santa Cruz and Wildwood? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $4,214/mo in Santa Cruz vs $1,328/mo in Wildwood, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $3,179/mo to $1,076/mo.
How do salaries compare between Santa Cruz and Wildwood? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $80,687 in Santa Cruz and $63,776 in Wildwood, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Santa Cruz has the same purchasing power as $77,732 in Wildwood.
Is Santa Cruz or Wildwood safer? ▼
At the state level, CA has a violent crime rate of 476.8 per 100,000 residents compared to FL's 210.3 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1985.9 vs 1030.0 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Santa Cruz and Wildwood? ▼
CA has 10,006 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 21.5:1, while FL has 4,029 schools at 17.8:1. Charter schools make up 12.8% of CA schools vs 17.9% in FL. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
Explore more
Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial