Probably because higher incomes and more low income areas in LA. One thing that always surprised me about SD is how few really low end, ghetto type areas there are here compared to most bigger cities in the US. There really are very few here.
Interesting and thorough article about housing “affordability” around the world, which they generally defined as the ratio of income to housing prices in each area.
My observation is that the least affordable cities always seem to have two attributes:
1. People want to live there (for the jobs, weather, amenities, vibe, etc.), and
2. Geographical limits on land usage: they are hemmed in by water, mountains, borders, government building restrictions, or whatever, that physically limit development. In America, the most affordable housing cities tend to be inland, flat, able to expand in every direction. Think Phoenix, Las Vegas, Detroit, Atlanta, most Texas cities.
Where is it expensive? Geographically constrained San Francisco, NYC, Seattle, Chicago, etc.
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