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Residential comparison · 13 facts

Cathedral City, CA vs Novato, CA

Compare the housing, tax, cost, income, safety, school, and climate facts that are available for both places. The table shows the numbers without declaring one city universally better.

A household earning $85,000 in Cathedral City needs about $98,500 in Novato to keep the same lifestyle.
Coming from Novato, $85,000 of lifestyle costs about $71,500 in Cathedral City.

A few differences

Cathedral City vs Novato · facet by facet
FacetCathedral City, CANovato, CA
Median home price$453,100$1,032,500
2-bedroom rent$1,658/mo$2,557/mo
Property tax rate0.75%0.75%
State & local income tax2.09%2.09%
Sales tax8.8%8.8%
Cost of living index116161
Groceries index112112
Utilities$245/mo$245/mo
Median household income$73,572$115,736
Unemployment rate5.2%5.2%
Crime index52/10052/100
School rating5.5/105.5/10
Sunny days / year260 days260 days

Data: Census ACS 2024 · BLS · Tax Foundation 2024 brackets · HUD/Zillow · NOAA 1991–2020 · FEMA NRI · Values are shown as reported; no universal winner is implied.

Full profiles: Cathedral City, CA · Novato, CA
Questions & answers
Is Cathedral City cheaper than Novato?
Cathedral City has the lower day-to-day cost index (116 vs 161 against a national 100). The other differences are shown facet by facet in the table.
What household income in Novato equals $85,000 in Cathedral City?
A household earning $85,000 in Cathedral City needs about $98,500 in Novato to keep the same lifestyle; coming the other way, $85,000 of Novato lifestyle costs about $71,500 in Cathedral City.