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Winter Gardens vs Santee

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: trails (80.8× in Santee) and jobs per worker (2.4× in Santee).

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Winter Gardens, CAOne of the healthiest townsCalifornia · 22,131 people
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Santee, CAAn outdoors townCalifornia · 59,332 people
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Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

Winter GardensOne of the healthiest towns
HealthHealthier than 64%of U.S. towns on CDC estimates All about Winter Gardens →
SanteeAn outdoors town
Outdoors#40 most trails in CA65 miles of trails across 13 parks and preserves Schools#119 for schools in CAof 574 towns HealthHealthier than 78%of U.S. towns on CDC estimates All about Santee →
The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

Trails80.8×
Santee has more miles of trail
Santee 64.6 miWinter Gardens 0.8 mi
Jobs per worker2.4×
Santee is more of a job hub
Santee 0.63Winter Gardens 0.26
Size2.7×
Santee is the bigger place
Santee 59,332Winter Gardens 22,131
Home values+19%
Homes cost more in Santee
Santee $727,200Winter Gardens $608,600
Rent+18%
Rent runs higher in Santee
Santee $2,250Winter Gardens $1,913
Bachelor’s degree++9.8 pts
More adults in Santee have a degree
Santee 35%Winter Gardens 25.2%
★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $1,050 more a month in Santee

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Winter Gardens$3,560/mo
Typical home $609K (Census) · tax rate 0.73% · or rent about $1,913/mo · Housing →
Santee$4,610/mo
Typical home $796K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.67% · or rent about $2,250/mo · Housing →

The difference: $1,050 a month, about $12,600 a year, between Santee and Winter Gardens.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Santee places higher on 14 of 20 CA lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every California ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety
–Winter GardensNot graded BSanteeSafer than 58% of U.S. towns
Schools
B−Winter GardensBetter than 54% of districts in the state B+SanteeBetter than 72% of districts in the state
Health
BWinter GardensHealthier than 64% of U.S. towns A−SanteeHealthier than 78% of U.S. towns
5Winter Gardens
14Santee

Lists won, of 20 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Best schoolsSchools · 574 towns #411#119 Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 422 towns #177#391 Most conserved landOutdoors · 777 towns #466#231 Fewest smokersHealth · 844 towns #530#329 Cheapest rentCost of living · 830 towns #425#563 Most educatedPeople · 844 towns #488#352 HealthiestHealth · 844 towns #407#278 Highest incomeIncome · 843 towns #388#272

Left end = #1 in California. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Winter Gardens’s rankings →

Where they are

Winter Gardens and Santee share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

Winter GardensSanteeWinter GardensSantee
Winter Gardens ↔ Santee3.7 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
459 Winter Gardens residents work in Santee (4.5% of its workers)
Work & commute in Winter Gardens →
Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons
Winter GardensSantee
Snow a year0″0″
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)79th86th
Outdoors & history
Winter GardensSantee
Trails—65 mi
Conserved land—10.7%
Settled—1877
National Register places—1
Archive photos—1
Famous people born here—2
Community
Winter GardensSantee
Library hours a week—45 hrs
Colleges in town—1
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Winter GardensSantee
People
Population 22,131Lowest 59,332Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +8.5%Lowest CA: +6.1% +12.4%Highest CA: +6.1%
Median age 38.1±3.1Lowest about the CA average 40.3±1Highest 6% above CA
Santee and Winter Gardens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18 24.8%±3Highest CA: 22% 23.1%±1.6Lowest CA: 22%
Winter Gardens and Santee are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 13.6%±1.3Lowest CA: 15.7% 16.5%±1.2Highest CA: 15.7%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 25.2%Lowest CA: 37.1% 35%Highest CA: 37.1%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.4%±1.4Lowest CA: 7.6% 6.9%±0.9Highest CA: 7.6%
Santee and Winter Gardens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $97,973±$10kLowest about the CA average $113,394±$6kHighest 14% above CA
Santee and Winter Gardens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $608,600±$50kLowest 17% below CA $727,200±$20kHighest about the CA average
Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,913±$99Lowest 6% below CA $2,250±$84Highest 11% above CA
Property taxmedian, yearly $4,425Lowest 14% below CA $4,840Highest 6% below CA
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 54.5%±8.1Lowest CA: 55.3% 64.7%±4.8Highest CA: 55.3%
Santee and Winter Gardens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 9.3%Highest CA: 12% 7.9%Lowest CA: 12%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 63.5%Lowest CA: 55.9% 72.4%Highest CA: 55.9%
Typical home builtmedian year 1977Lowest 1 yr newer than CA 1979Highest 3 yrs newer than CA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 26 minLowest 10% below CA 27 minHighest 7% below CA
Work from home 13.5%±5.5Lowest CA: 17.2% 17.3%±1.5Highest CA: 17.2%
Santee and Winter Gardens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents 2.9%Lowest 7.9%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 13.8 miHighest 11.3 miLowest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.26Lowest 0.63Highest
Top workplaceoutside town San Diego (36%)San Diego (47%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others 4% work in SanteeFew work in Winter Gardens
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 3.1%Lowest 10.7%Highest
Trailsmapped miles 0.8 miLowest 64.6 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miLowest 3.9 miHighest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0Lowest 13Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 68.6Lowest 73.9Highest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #411 of 574 in CA#119 of 574 in CA
School district Cajon Valley Union · Lakeside Union ElementaryGrossmont Union High · Santee
High school in town None in townWest Hills High
Students per teacherat that high school — 23.4
California average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024
Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Winter Gardens neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Winter Gardens’s Town Square.

Santee neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Santee’s Town Square.

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Bordering Winter Gardens

+ Compare
Lakeside22,447 people · $634K homes
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El Cajon104,449 people · $682K homes
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Bostonia16,765 people · $488K homes

Towns like Winter Gardens

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Santa Fe Springs18,871 people · $660K homes
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Dixon19,683 people · $605K homes
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El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)31,446 people · $687K homes
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Suisun City29,286 people · $580K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

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