Almost 95 miles to the east of SLO CAL and on the other side of the Coastal Mountains is Bakersfield, a more densely populated city. The monthly average for assisted living in Bakersfield is $3,613, much lower than the average for SLO CAL. The trade-off is being far from the coast and all the small-town amenities of San Luis Obispo County. North of Bakersfield and northeast of SLO CAL is Hanford averaging similar costs as Bakersfield at $3,975 a month. South of SLO CAL is Santa Maria, a smaller city with assisted living costs averaging $5,000 monthly and just south of Santa Maria is Oxnard averaging higher at $5,845. Venturing to the north of SLO CAL, seniors have choices for assisted living in Salinas. Still, the monthly average for assisted living is very high, at $7,100. Salinas has a very high cost of living.