on $100k a year, leaving Huntsville
changea dispatch from
santa maria
CA
34.95°N
120.44°W
Santa Maria has its own style of barbecue (tri-tip cooked over red oak with pinquito beans and salsa), which is a legitimate regional tradition that locals will fight you about. The surrounding Santa Maria Valley is becoming serious wine country (especially Pinot Noir and Chardonnay). It's quieter and more affordable than its central coast neighbors. The Pacific is right there.
in our guides
the verdict
more each month than Huntsville ran you
Santa Maria doesn't pretend to be affordable. Move here for what Santa Maria is, not for what it leaves on your monthly ledger.
a quick ledger.
$3,352/mo
144% more expensive than Huntsville(vs $1,374/mo)
9.3%
$358/mo more in state tax than Huntsville
vs 5% in Huntsville
$4,206/mo
$2,337 less than Huntsville
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$1059k
235% more expensive than Huntsville
vs $316k in Huntsville
441k
vs 527k in Huntsville
field notes, weather & such.
337
pleasant days a year, in santa maria.
Huntsville barely cracks 177 pleasant ones.
But the calendar thins out: Huntsville stays Infinity× busier.
59/100
2% higher than Huntsville
vs 58/100 in Huntsville
Closest outdoor draw: Channel Islands National Park, 73 mi.
87/100
24% higher than Huntsville
vs 70/100 in Huntsville
2
78% fewer than Huntsville
vs 9 nonstops in Huntsville
cities that play in santa maria's register:
