Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 35/100
F
Median home value$713,000
Los Angeles $871,300
Median rent$2,082/mo
Los Angeles $2,063/mo
Cost-burdened households43%
Los Angeles 46%
Santa Ana
Orange County312,534 residents2 school districts
56
C−
Suburbgrade score
29th of 60 Los Angeles suburbs. Strong on amenities and cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.
56
Los Angeles median 55
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Santa Ana yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 56 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Santa Ana is like to live in, by category
Bars show Santa Ana against Los Angeles. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 46/100
D
Within-state proficiency37th pct
Los Angeles median 63rd pct
Student–teacher ratio20.5
Los Angeles median 22.9
Graduation rate89%
Los Angeles median 92%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 76/100
B
Housing cost index92
Los Angeles 100
Eff. tax rate0.58%
Los Angeles 0.66%
Local sales tax9.25%
Los Angeles median 10.00%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 65/100
C+
Mean commute24.5 min
Los Angeles 29.5 min
Under 30 minutes68%
Los Angeles 54%
Transit stops / sq mi29
Los Angeles median 11 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 78/100
B+
Restaurants & cafés75
Los Angeles median 92 · within 2 miles
Groceries11
Los Angeles median 9 · within 2 miles
Parks61
Los Angeles median 47 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 50/100
D+
Median household income$93,999
Los Angeles $95,958
Unemployment4.8%
Los Angeles 6.8%
Professional occupations25%
Los Angeles 43%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Santa Ana yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Santa Ana on housing & affordability
Santa Ana's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Newport Beach8 mi from Santa AnaB− 72 B− Yorba Linda12 mi from Santa AnaC+ 60 C Mission Viejo16 mi from Santa AnaC 67 C+ Laguna Niguel18 mi from Santa AnaC 66 C+ Lake Forest13 mi from Santa AnaC− 67 C+ Fountain Valley4 mi from Santa AnaC− 64 C+ Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Santa Ana
Is Santa Ana, CA a good place to live?
Santa Ana scores 56 out of 100, 29th of 60 Los Angeles suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Santa Ana expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B. The median home is $713,000, 18% below the Los Angeles median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.58%. $2,082/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Santa Ana?
Schools grade D. The districts serving Santa Ana sit at the 37th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 89% graduation rate and a 20.5 student–teacher ratio. Santa Ana is served by Santa Ana Unified and Garden Grove Unified. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Santa Ana?
The mean commute is 24.5 min, with 68% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 9.3% working from home. Transit density is 29 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Santa Ana?
Within two miles there are 11 groceries, 75 restaurants and cafés and 61 parks, which grades B+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Santa Ana old or new?
The median home in Santa Ana was built in 1969 — close to the Los Angeles median of 1969. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 51% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.