Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Garden Grove's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Garden Grove?
Your $100,000 in Garden Grove has the same purchasing power as $73,298 in the average US city. You'd need $26,702 more here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Garden Grove's cost index of 136, sorted by closest match.
Wondering whether you should move to Garden Grove? It depends on what you're optimizing for, but the city has real arguments in its favor: solidly above-average earnings and safer than the typical us city, plus 2 more things worth knowing. The data behind each is below.
Median household income in Garden Grove is $86,139, a step above the national median of about $75k. The local job market leans toward industries that pay better than average, and that shows up in the take-home for most working households here.
Garden Grove reports about 2,535 crime incidents per 100,000 residents — a step below the US average of around 3,500. The citywide number averages over neighborhoods that can vary a lot, but the headline number is friendlier than most American cities of comparable size.
Garden Grove earns a Walk Score of 66/100 — above the US median, with denser neighborhoods scoring higher than the citywide aggregate suggests. A car is still useful for longer trips, but everyday life works on foot for a lot of residents.
Garden Grove's Bike Score is 69/100 — the kind of number you only get when a city has built real bike infrastructure (protected lanes, connected routes, drivers who expect cyclists). For commuting or just for getting around, the bike is a serious option here, not a hobby.
Reasons are pulled from Garden Grove's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Almost never. Garden Grove's winter average of about 50°F is too warm for snow most years. A measurable snowfall is the kind of event that closes schools and gets photographed for the local paper.
Barely. Winter in Garden Grove averages around 50°F — short, mild, mostly an excuse to break out a light jacket. Some plants don't even drop their leaves.
Pleasantly warm. Garden Grove's summer averages around 75°F — comfortable for outdoor evenings, hot enough on peak days to warrant AC but mild compared to the Sun Belt.
Garden Grove falls in roughly USDA Zone 10. The zone classification is based on average annual minimum temperatures, so it's the right lookup for whether perennials and trees will overwinter here. Note that this is approximate from our winter-temperature data — check the USDA map for the exact zone before betting an expensive plant on it.
Garden Grove sits at about 85 feet (26 m) above sea level — low-lying, but with enough cushion that day-to-day life isn't affected by ocean levels.
Average for an American city. Garden Grove's reported crime rate of about 2,535 per 100,000 residents sits roughly in line with the US baseline of ~3,500. Like anywhere else, the citywide number masks real differences between neighborhoods — worth looking at specific areas before deciding.
Yes — Garden Grove is one of the more expensive places to live in the US. The cost-of-living index is 136, about 36% above the national average. Housing is the dominant factor, and salaries here have to be high to compensate.
Somewhat. Garden Grove earns a Walk Score of 66/100 — many daily errands are doable on foot, especially in the denser neighborhoods, but a car still helps for longer trips. Transit Score is 34 out of 100.
Roughly $95,501 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Garden Grove runs about $1,887/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.