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Santa Cruz County, California

Santa Cruz County has a population of 264,926 and has shrunk 4.9% since the 2020 census. The median home is worth $1,027,500, about 9.3 times the county's median household income of $111,093.

Home price
$1,027,500
Income
$111,093
Population
264,926
Unemployment
6.1%

Housing

Home values, rent, property taxes, insurance and how local prices relate to local incomes.

Median home price$1,027,500county
Median gross rent$2,264county
Median year homes here were built1974county
Share of homes built before 198063.4%county
Share of homes that are manufactured or mobile6.8%county
Share of homes that are vacant9.4%county
Share of occupied homes that are rented40.1%county
Share of homes held for seasonal or occasional use4.4%county
Typical monthly rent$3,609county
HUD fair market rent, 2-bed$4,214county
HUD fair market rent, 1-bed$3,298county
HUD fair market rent, 3-bed$5,377county
Home insurance / yr$1,616(statewide)

Money

Household earnings and buying power. Adjusted income restates local income using the statewide cost-of-living index.

Cost of living142.3(statewide)
Median household income$111,093county
Family health premium / yr$24,143(statewide)
Infant childcare / yr$21,945(statewide)
Regular gas price / gal$5.593(statewide)
Poverty rate11.6%county

Jobs

What people here do for work, who they work for, whether they work from home, and how much of the local economy sits in one industry.

Workers who work from home19.3%county
Unemployment rate6.1%county
Share of adults in the labor force62.8%county
Share of workers who are self-employed9.0%county
Share of workers employed by government16.7%county
Share of workers in the largest industry25.6%county
Economic output per resident$79,615county

Taxes

State tax rules that can affect take-home pay, investments and everyday purchases.

Property tax rate0.64%county
Top state income tax13.30%(statewide)
Capital gains tax13.30%(statewide)
Combined sales tax9.03%(statewide)

Transportation

Distance to air travel and how people get around locally. Distances are straight-line from the county's population-weighted centre, so driving is further.

Mean commute time25.7 mincounty
Miles to nearest airport with airline service26 micounty
Passengers boarding at the nearest airline airport5822019county
Miles to nearest general aviation field8.9 micounty
Airports with airline service located here0county
General aviation airfields located here1county
Passenger train stations and the railway network0county
Miles to the nearest passenger rail station24 micounty
Households without a vehicle5.2%county
Traffic deaths7.5county
Change in traffic deaths per 100,000-1.8(statewide)

Schools

Public schools and colleges counted where they actually sit, plus the education level of adults who live here. Students per teacher is a staffing measure, not a quality ranking.

Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher43.9%county
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma or higher88.6%county
Public schools in the county76county
Public school enrollment35827county
Students per full-time teacher21.4county
Free lunch eligible51.9%county
Elementary schools40county
Middle schools12county
High schools17county
Institutions granting bachelor's degrees or above2county
Share of local colleges that are public66.7%county
Two-year institutions1county
Miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution4.0 micounty

Health

Primary care physicians102county
Medicare-certified hospitals in this county4county
Hospitals here with an emergency department2county
Average CMS star rating of hospitals here3county
Fine particulate matter11.1 µgcounty
Without health insurance4.9%county
Adults who were food insecure in the past year13.5%county
Adults who received food assistance in the past year11.6%county
Frequent mental distress16.9%county
No leisure-time physical activity20.6%county
Diagnosed diabetes10.0%county

Place

Who lives here and what the place is like: population, age, migration, safety and civic profile.

Population264,926county
Land area in square miles445county
People per square mile of land595.0county
Supermarkets and grocery stores68county
Convenience stores20county
Share living far from a food store10.7%county
Share living in a low-income, low-access tract2.0%county
Population change since 2020-4.9%county
Natural change per 1,000 residents0county
Net international migration per 1,000 residents0county
Median age39.8 yrscounty
Share of residents under 1818.4%county
Share of residents 65 and over19.0%county
Share of households that are one person25.1%county
Share of residents born outside the United States18.0%county
Second languages33.6%county
Share of residents on a religious body’s rolls39.5%county
Congregations per 100,000 residents69county
Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents-10county
Households that moved in5,417county
Households that moved away6,660county
Average income of arriving households$113,571county
Average income of departing households$93,789county
Homes authorised per 1,000 existing homes4county
Housing units authorised in the latest year470county
Share of permitted homes in multifamily buildings65.3%county
Violent crime rate486(statewide)

Weather

Measured annual temperature, precipitation and snowfall. These are climate facts, not a ranking.

Avg. annual temperature58.5°Fcounty
Annual precipitation28.3 incounty
Annual snowfall0.0 incounty
Average daily solar energy4.73 kWh/m²county
Days reaching 90°F4 dayscounty
Days at or below freezing0 dayscounty

Gardening

Plant hardiness zoneZone 9bcounty
Frost-free days275 dayscounty
Average last spring frostMar 1county
Average first fall frostNov 30county

Utilities

Average monthly electric bill$198county
Electric utilities serving this county1county
Electricity price per kWh39.6¢county
Household electricity use500 kWhcounty
Residential natural gas price$20.81(statewide)
Homes heated by electricity25.9%county
Homes heated by utility gas57.3%county
Homes heated by propane9.9%county
Homes heated by fuel oil0.2%county
Homes heated by wood3.8%county
Households with broadband94.2%county

Risk

Relative exposure to air pollution and natural hazards. Higher values indicate more measured risk, not a prediction.

Riverine flood risk96.2county
Coastal flood risk49.2county
Drought risk99.4county
Landslide risk99.3county
Hail risk33.2county
Earthquake risk99.3county
Tornado risk18.7county
Tropical cyclone risk0.0county
Extreme heat risk86.6county
Winter weather risk31.7county
Strong wind risk7.0county
Wildfire risk97.3county

Sports

Major pro teams based here0county
NFL teams based here0county
NBA teams based here0county
MLB teams based here0county
NHL teams based here0county
MLS soccer teams based here0county
Top-division college football teams0county
Second-tier college football teams0county
Affiliated minor league baseball teams0county
AHL teams based here0county
ECHL teams based here0county

Figures marked county are measured for Santa Cruz County directly. The rest are published at state level only and show the California figure — see methodology for each source and its limits.

Similar counties in California

Alameda$1,090,100Orange$962,600Napa$869,500Contra Costa$866,800San Diego$854,700Los Angeles$834,200

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