El Cajon vs Santa Maria
The short version
- Santa Maria is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 3% lower than in the El Cajon area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $531,700 in Santa Maria and $681,700 in El Cajon.
- Households earn more in Santa Maria ($84,746 vs $67,511 median).
- El Cajon has the warmer winter: January highs of 69°F vs 65°F.
- El Cajon has more scorching days: 57 a year at 90°F or hotter vs 6.
- Santa Maria is growing faster: +1.5% since 2020 vs -4.2%.
Side by side
| El Cajon, CA | Santa Maria, CA | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 101,755 | 111,390 |
| Growth since 2020 | -4.2% | +1.5% |
| People per square mile | 7,013 | 4,883 |
| Median age | 36.1 | 29.3 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 23% | 16% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $67,511 | $84,746 |
| Median home value | $681,700 | $531,700 |
| Home value to income | 10.1× | 6.3× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,856 | $1,925 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 111.9 | 108.8 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 179.3 | 151.4 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $83,900 | $81,600 |
| Homeowners | 42% | 50% |
| Top state income tax | 13.3% | 13.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.03% | 9.03% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 24.8 | 22.4 |
| Work from home | 11% | 5% |
| Take public transit | 2% | 2% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 9.6% | 7.3% |
| Poverty rate | 20.5% | 17.3% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 69° / 43° | 65° / 41° |
| July high / low | 86° / 63° | 73° / 55° |
| Precipitation per year | 12 in | 13 in |
| Snowfall per year | 0 in | 0 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 57 | 6 |
| Nights below freezing | 2 | 9 |
| Comfortable months | 8 | 10 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Very High | Relatively High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 99.7 | 99.0 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 18% | 45% |
| Home prices, past year | +2.5% | +2.3% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +40.8% | +43.7% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: El Cajon: January to June and October to November. Santa Maria: February to November.
Full monthly tables: El Cajon weather by month and Santa Maria weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $83,900 in El Cajon and $81,600 in Santa Maria. Moving from El Cajon to Santa Maria, you would need about $72,900 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between El Cajon and Santa Maria
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from El Cajon and Santa Maria.
Which would you pick?
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