county

Santa Cruz County, CA

Demographic and economic profile of Santa Cruz County, CA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Santa Cruz County's economy centers on education, tourism, and agriculture, supported by a workforce of roughly 130,000 labor-force participants with a 43.6% bachelor's-degree attainment rate—well above national averages—though median worker earnings of $46,104 lag behind the county's $111,093 median household income, suggesting reliance on multi-earner households. Housing costs are a defining constraint, with a median home value of $1,015,200 and median gross rent of $2,172 per month. The county posted a -2.8% population decline over five years, an unemployment rate of 5.6%, and an 18.0% foreign-born share, pointing to ongoing outmigration pressures despite relatively high household incomes.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

262,406

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$111,093

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

39.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-2.8% since 2018

Santa Cruz County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone159,010 (60.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone45,229 (17.1%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race29,182 (11.0%)
  • Asian Alone12,961 (4.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races12,730 (4.8%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone3,172 (1.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish64,860
  2. 2.Other Indo-European4,385
  3. 3.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)2,893
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island2,105
  5. 5.German or other West Germanic2,004

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

18.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

62.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

18.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

18.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

8,035

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$60,755

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$55,717

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

11.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance33,515
  2. 2.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services18,367
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services13,157
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)12,951
  5. 5.Manufacturing (Group)10,425

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations63,447
  2. 2.Service Occupations21,919
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations21,807
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations12,527
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations11,257

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.90×)6,161
  2. 2.Information (LQ 1.25×)3,122
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.18×)13,736
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management (LQ 1.13×)18,626
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.07×)33,406

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$1,015,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$2,172/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

59.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $1,000,000 to $1,499,99916,675 (28.7%)
  • $750,000 to $999,99911,578 (19.9%)
  • $500,000 to $749,9998,173 (14.1%)
  • $1,500,000 to $1,999,9997,914 (13.6%)
  • $2,000,000 or More5,708 (9.8%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9992,450 (4.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

43.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

63.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$46,104

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

25.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone78,208 (62.2%)
  • Worked At Home24,267 (19.3%)
  • Carpooled10,250 (8.1%)
  • Walked5,280 (4.2%)
  • Bicycle2,741 (2.2%)
  • Public Transit2,384 (1.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.