Should I Move To
Roughly 171,637 people live in Garden Grove, California. Living here costs very expensive relative to the rest of the country, 36% above the national average. Median rent runs about $1,887/mo; the typical household pulls in $86,139. On the UrbRank Score it pulls a 38/100 — a F, putting it at #850 nationally.
UrbRank Score · General
Each dimension scored 0-100 against every other US city.
Based on overall cost of living vs. other US cities.
Inverse of violent + property crime rate per 100,000 residents.
Temperate summers & winters, moderate precipitation.
Walk Score — how feasible daily errands are on foot.
Unemployment rate plus household income vs. national median.
Air quality index (EPA AQS data).
Share of residents 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.
By the composite index, Garden Grove sits at 136 — very expensive when stacked against the rest of the country. Running the rent-to-income math ($1,887/mo against $86,139 median household income), housing eats roughly 26% of a typical paycheck — right inside the standard 30%-of-income guideline. Buying-side, the median home value is $702,600.
Full cost-of-living breakdown →The weather here is mild: roughly 75°F in summer, 50°F in winter. Annual precipitation lands near 12 inches. Some neighborhoods are walkable; others aren't. A car is useful, but not required everywhere. Crime rates land roughly average for a US city of this size. Air quality is moderate (AQI 56).
Verdict by lifestyle profile — same data, different priorities.
For families, Garden Grove isn't the strongest match. It earns 33/100 (grade F) on the families profile. Strongest on walkability (66/100); weakest on environmental quality (2/100).
For retirees, Garden Grove isn't the strongest match. It earns 37/100 (grade F) on the retirees profile. Strongest on walkability (66/100); weakest on environmental quality (2/100).
For remote workers, Garden Grove isn't the strongest match. It earns 30/100 (grade F) on the remote workers profile. Strongest on walkability (66/100); weakest on environmental quality (2/100).
For young professionals, Garden Grove isn't the strongest match. It earns 47/100 (grade D) on the young professionals profile. Strongest on walkability (66/100); weakest on environmental quality (2/100).
Garden Grove, California pulls a 38/100 overall on the UrbRank Score (grade F), currently ranked #850 nationally. The composite weights seven lifestyle dimensions: affordability, safety, climate, walkability, jobs, environment, and education.
Garden Grove's cost-of-living index is 136 (with 100 as the US average), which lands in the very expensive band — 36% above the national average. Median rent runs about $1,887/mo.
Mild — summer averages around 75°F, winter averages around 50°F, with about 12 inches of precipitation a year.
Walk Score: 66/100. Some neighborhoods are walkable; others aren't. A car is useful, but not required everywhere.
Garden Grove has about 171,637 residents, 23% of adults 25+ holding a bachelor's degree or higher with a median age of 39.
Use UrbRank's comparison tool to put Garden Grove head-to-head against any other US city — housing, salaries, demographics, and quality-of-life metrics side by side. The leaderboard pages also show how Garden Grove stacks up for families, retirees, remote workers, and young professionals specifically.
Every US city is scored 0-100 on seven dimensions using public data from the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI Crime Data Explorer, EPA Air Quality System, NOAA NCEI, and Walk Score. Each dimension is a percentile rank against every other city — so a score of 80 means the city is in the top 20% nationally on that dimension.
The overall score is a weighted average. Five lifestyle profiles — general, families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals — weight the dimensions differently to reflect what each cares about. Families get more weight on safety and schools; young professionals get more weight on jobs and walkability; retirees get more weight on climate.
Compare Garden Grove with other California cities scored on UrbRank.
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