USLivingCost Salaries · Rent · Cost of Living

Santa Ana, CA vs. Stockton, CA

Median rent is $1,975 a month in Santa Ana, CA and $1,495 in Stockton, CA. Household income is $88,354 against $76,851. Both cities are read from the same ACS 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates and the same BEA Regional Price Parities 2023, so the two columns below are directly comparable.

$
Same standard of living
A salary of $100,000 in Santa Ana, CA buys what $95,416 buys in Stockton, CA
-$4,584 less to keep the same standard of living
Median gross rent Monthly
$1,975 $1,495 -24.3%
Median household income Annual
$88,354 $76,851 -13.0%
Median home value Owner-occupied
$657,800 $412,900 -37.2%
Rent as share of income Annual rent ÷ income
26.8% 23.3% -3.5 pp
Price level U.S. average = 100
112.6 107.4 -4.6%
Salary needed for median rent Keeps rent at 30% of gross
$79,000 $59,800 -24.3%
Rent median income carries at 30% Affordable rent
$2,209 $1,921 -13.0%
Population City proper
311,639 320,470 +2.8%
Equivalent salary For $100,000 in Santa Ana
$100,000 $95,416 -4.6%

A green or red badge means the second city is higher or lower, not better or worse: a lower rent is good for a tenant, a lower household income is not. For the price level and
the share of income the raw values are shown, because a percentage difference between two
percentages is easy to misread.

What the gap means

Lower rent
$1,495
Stockton, CA · 32.1% below Santa Ana, CA
Higher household income
$88,354
Santa Ana, CA · 15.0% above Stockton, CA
Same standard of living
$95,416
$100,000 in Santa Ana, CA needs $95,416 in Stockton, CA
Price level gap
5.2 points
112.6 in CA against 107.4 in CA
Rent burden gap
3.5 points
Stockton, CA versus Santa Ana, CA, share of income taken by rent
Highest buying power
93.1%
Stockton, CA · share of the national average income that a dollar there buys

More comparisons with Santa Ana, CA

More comparisons with Stockton, CA

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Definitions used on this page

Salary needed for the median rent
Twelve months of median gross rent divided by 0.30: the income that keeps the median rent at 30% of gross pay.
Price level
BEA regional price parity for the metro area where one is published, otherwise for the state. The national average is 100.
Same standard of living
A salary in Santa Ana, CA converted into Stockton, CA at the ratio of the two price levels. It adjusts for prices only, not for taxes or for what either city offers.
Buying power
One hundred divided by the price level: what a dollar buys locally relative to the national average.

Sources

Margins of error are published for every Census figure. Read the methodology before reading a small gap between two cities as a real difference.

Full detail for each city: Santa Ana, CA · Stockton, CA