Salary comparison
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive: Santa Rosa vs Santa Cruz
Santa Rosa, CA pays about 0.4% more for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive on paper — $57,720 vs $57,510. But once you factor in what it costs to live there, Santa Rosa comes out ahead by $210 a year in real buying power.
Santa Rosa, CA
$57,720
$47,840
$69,680
$27.75
100
$57,720/yr
Median adjusted for local cost of living.
Santa Cruz, CA
$57,510
$46,420
$68,410
$27.65
100
$57,510/yr
Median adjusted for local cost of living.
What the numbers mean in practice
The headline gap is $210 a year (0.4%) in favor of Santa Rosa. That is the raw salary difference before any living costs.
Santa Rosa runs a cost index of 100 against the national baseline of 100; Santa Cruz sits at 100. After adjusting the median for those costs, Santa Rosa is the better deal by $210 a year — that is what each paycheck actually buys locally.
If you are weighing a move from Santa Cruz to Santa Rosa for this role, the raise needs to beat 0.4% to come out ahead after living costs. Anything below that and you are earning more on paper but keeping less.
Common questions
Where do secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive earn more, Santa Rosa or Santa Cruz?
Santa Rosa pays $57,720 on median — about 0.4% more than Santa Cruz ($57,510). Based on BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Which city is the better deal after living costs?
Santa Rosa. Once you divide each median by the local cost index, Santa Rosa gives you roughly$57,720 of real buying power versus $57,510 in the other city.