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CityLedger

Bremerton vs Santa Cruz

Metro-area medians — Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA Metro Area vs Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Bremerton comes out ahead, winning 7 of the 9 clearly-decided measures.

Bremerton costs about 4% less to live in, and household incomes are similar. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Bremerton.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Bremerton, WA
$61,314
take-home / yr · 18% to tax
$58,058
real value after local prices
Santa Cruz, CA
$58,296
take-home / yr · 22% to tax
$53,047
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Bremerton leaves you about $5,011/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure
Bremerton
Santa Cruz
Livability (CityLedger)
80/100
72/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
105.6
109.9
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$103,262
$98,177
Median household income
$109,052
$107,893
Median rent
$1,869/mo
$2,293/mo
Median home value
$579,700
$985,800
Unemployment
3.2%
5.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher
39.4%
44.1%
Average commute
28.4 min
27.3 min
Air quality (median AQI)
19
39
Avg temperature
54°F
57°F

Choose Bremerton for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
  • + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
  • + Median rent
  • + Median home value
  • + Unemployment
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full Bremerton profile →

Choose Santa Cruz for

  • + Bachelor's degree or higher
  • + Average commute
Full Santa Cruz profile →

Bremerton vs Santa Cruz — frequently asked

Is Bremerton cheaper than Santa Cruz?
Bremerton is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 4% below Santa Cruz's (BEA Regional Price Parities).
Which has higher household income, Bremerton or Santa Cruz?
Household incomes are similar — $109,052 in the Bremerton metro versus $107,893 in Santa Cruz (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).
Does a paycheck go further in Bremerton or Santa Cruz?
A paycheck stretches further in Bremerton. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $103,262 there versus $98,177 in Santa Cruz.
Which has cheaper rent, Bremerton or Santa Cruz?
Bremerton has cheaper rent — a median of $1,869/mo versus $2,293/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).