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CityLedger

Oxnard vs San Jose

Metro-area medians — Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA Metro Area vs San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area — not the cities proper.

San Jose comes out ahead, winning 4 of the 6 clearly-decided measures.

Oxnard and San Jose cost about the same to live in, but San Jose households earn about 44% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in San Jose.

Their widest everyday difference: San Jose is more educated — 56.3% of adults hold a bachelor's degree versus 37.6%.

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.

Oxnard, CA
$58,296
take-home / yr · 22% to tax
$52,741
real value after local prices
San Jose, CA
$58,296
take-home / yr · 22% to tax
$52,794
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, San Jose leaves you about $53/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
Oxnard
San Jose
Livability (CityLedger)
72/100
82/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
110.5
110.4
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$103,351
$149,245
Median household income
$114,238
$164,801
Median rent
$2,313/mo
$2,827/mo
Median home value
$869,300
$1,528,500
Unemployment
5.2%
5.3%
Bachelor's degree or higher
37.6%
56.3%
Average commute
26.7 min
27.5 min
Air quality (median AQI)
50
51
Avg temperature
63°F
58°F

Choose Oxnard for

  • + Median rent
  • + Median home value
Full Oxnard profile →

Choose San Jose for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
  • + Median household income
  • + Bachelor's degree or higher
Full San Jose profile →

More comparisons

Metros closest to Oxnard and San Jose on cost, income, size, and education.

Oxnard vs Urban Honolulu→Oxnard vs Santa Rosa→Oxnard vs Santa Cruz→San Jose vs San Francisco→San Jose vs San Diego→San Jose vs Boston→

Oxnard vs San Jose — frequently asked

Is Oxnard cheaper than San Jose?
They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Oxnard and San Jose metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Oxnard or San Jose?
San Jose has the higher median household income — $164,801 versus $114,238 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 44% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Oxnard or San Jose?
A paycheck stretches further in San Jose. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $149,245 there versus $103,351 in Oxnard.
Which has cheaper rent, Oxnard or San Jose?
Oxnard has cheaper rent — a median of $2,313/mo versus $2,827/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).