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Place dossier plate
SheetCA-SANTA-ANA-CA · Santa Ana, CA 311,639 pop · income 69th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Santa Ana
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Santa Ana on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Newark · lowest
48,416
Newark · lowest
48,416 median HH income
37.3% of the leader · rank #1
Montgomery · near
88,348
Montgomery · near
88,348 median HH income
68.1% of the leader · rank #2
Watford City · near
88,351
Watford City · near
88,351 median HH income
68.1% of the leader · rank #3
Grafton · near
88,352
Grafton · near
88,352 median HH income
68.1% of the leader · rank #4
Santa Ana · this city
88,354
Santa Ana · this city
88,354 median HH income
68.1% of the leader · rank #5
Mills River · near
88,359
Mills River · near
88,359 median HH income
68.2% of the leader · rank #6
Irvine · highest
129,647
Irvine · highest
129,647 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Santa Ana on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 311,639.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Santa Ana - the verdict
Nationally, Santa Ana sits in the 69th percentile for household income and the 28th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
69th
percentile, household income
92nd
percentile, home value
88th
percentile, median rent
28th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Santa Ana, CA
311,639 people live in Santa Ana, California - a mid-sized U.S. city by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Santa Ana brings in $88,354 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 8.8%. Typical homes in Santa Ana are valued around $657,800, and the median resident age is 34.3 years. Educational attainment runs 18.0% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 62.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 440 residential building permits were authorized in Santa Ana (Construction Slowdown), down 32% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 2195.3 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, near the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
California carries a cost-of-living premium: the state registers 110.7 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Above Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $2,053 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in California run around $275, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 88.7 out of 100 (Very High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Santa Ana's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from schools and households to reported crime to comparison shortlist to population change to housing and income to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Santa Ana, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits, annual population history, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Santa Ana?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 79 public schools within the city match. 18.0% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Santa Ana?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2195.3 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, near the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 4% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Which cities make useful reference points for Santa Ana?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within California, the closest population matches are Irvine (308,160 residents, $129,647 income); Riverside (316,241 residents, $88,575 income); Stockton (320,470 residents, $76,851 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Orlando, FL (311,732 residents); Cincinnati, OH (309,595 residents); St. Paul, MN (307,762 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Is Santa Ana growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +4,350 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.4% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 440 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Santa Ana?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 7.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 8.8%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
7.4×
Home value
$657,800
Household income
$88,354
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What does the journey to work look like in Santa Ana?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 70.8%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Drive alone
70.8%
Work from home
8.7%
Public transit
3.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 152,467 workers age 16+.
Above median income · poverty 8.8% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
110.7 (US=100)
Highest-decile cost · BEA RPP 2024, California average
F
City profile score · Santa Ana, CA
34/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Household income B-
$88,354
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate D
8.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
18.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime F
493 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Cost of living F
110.7 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Santa Ana profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 68/100 (B-) · $88,354
Poverty rate: 44/100 (D) · 8.8%
Bachelor's+ share: 28/100 (F) · 18.0%
Violent crime: 16/100 (F) · 493 /100k
Cost of living: 6/100 (F) · 110.7 index
Where Santa Ana sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Santa Ana's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Santa Ana highlighted among 12 peers.Read the chart values
Santa Ana, CA (this city): home $657,800, crime 2,195/100k
Cincinnati, OH : home $215,300, crime 4,675/100k
St. Paul, MN : home $280,300, crime 3,452/100k
Newark, NJ : home $337,800, crime 2,539/100k
Corpus Christi, TX : home $197,100, crime 3,875/100k
Pittsburgh, PA : home $193,200, crime 2,707/100k
Irvine, CA : home $1,115,400, crime 1,474/100k
Riverside, CA : home $542,100, crime 3,422/100k
Stockton, CA : home $412,900, crime 3,785/100k
Anaheim, CA : home $771,700, crime 2,728/100k
Chula Vista, CA : home $697,400, crime 1,508/100k
Santa Clarita, CA : home $721,000, crime 1,342/100k
How does Santa Ana compare to other US cities?
Here's how Santa Ana stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income69% higher than other cities
Home value92% pricier than other cities
Median rent88% pricier than other cities
Safety28% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at California, Santa Ana ranks #275 of 441 California cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Santa Ana against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to California only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
California-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Santa Ana near the bottom of California's cities
Among the 1,458 California cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Santa Ana ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Santa Ana only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#652 of 1,338
51st percentile in California
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,458
0th percentile in California
Median Home Value
#492 of 1,343
63rd percentile in California
Poverty Rate
#565 of 1,450
61st percentile in California
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#949 of 1,458
35th percentile in California
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within California only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
69th percentile nationally for median household income · 28th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Santa Ana's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Santa Ana's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Santa Ana's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$657,8008th percentilemore affordable than 8% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Santa Ana's home-value-to-income ratio: 7.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#14,867 of 15,516
More affordable than 4% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#107 of 117
Large cities (200,000–999,999)
At 7.4×, Santa Ana sits in the pressured band:
national rank #14,867 of 15,516 and #107 of 117large cities (200,000–999,999).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$88,354Santa Ana, CA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Santa Ana, CA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Santa Ana, CA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)18.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)8.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)62.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
311,639
Median Income
$88,354
Median Home Value
$657,800
Median Age
34.3
Poverty Rate
8.8%
Labor force participation
62.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
18.0%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2195.3
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
493.1
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1702.2
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
79
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Santa Ana's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
311,236 residents
2021
311,060 residents
2022
311,482 residents
2023
312,247 residents
2024
314,799 residents
2025
315,586 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
440
housing units authorized
Single-Family
211
detached homes
Multifamily
229
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.4
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
643
97
546
$107.8M
2020
899
70
829
$173.3M
2021
851
231
620
$144.5M
2022
812
180
632
$141.1M
2023
1,530
228
1,302
$333.3M
2024
440
211
229
$81.7M
Permit volume decreased 32% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
70.8%
Carpool
13.7%
Public Transit
3.0%
Walk
1.4%
Work from Home
8.7%
Other
2.4%
Based on 152,467 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
California statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $275
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across California at $275 (electricity about $150 , water and sewer about $70 ).
These are California statewide averages, not a meter reading for Santa Ana. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
California's BEA cost-of-living index is 110.7 (Well Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Santa Ana is $2,053/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to California statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 88.7 / 100 (Very High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a California statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Santa Ana sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Santa Ana compares to similar-size California cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.