Official Federal Data
Santa Cruz County, California
FIPS 06087 · Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA · Population 264,926
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$111,093 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
6.3% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$21.1B ▲
GDP
43.9% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$111,093 ▲
Per Capita
$56,941 ▲
Mean Household
$156,439 ▲
Poverty Rate
11.6% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Santa Cruz County$111,093
California$99,122
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 18.4%
18-34 · 26%
35-54 · 24%
55-64 · 12.7%
65+ · 19%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
88.6%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▼ 1.0 pts
43.9%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +8.2 pts
18.6%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +4.5 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
264,926
Population
139,522
Labor Force
Employed
130,957
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
6.3% ▲ +0.4 pts YoY
Mean Commute 1 min below national avg
25.7 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
19.3%
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
- Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 8.2 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 17,592 workers (23.6% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $76,448.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $21.1B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Manufacturing averages $113,418 while Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation averages $32,257, a 3.5x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
7,745
Cluster Employment
20.13x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Crop Production
20.13x 7,140
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation
5.48x 111
Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing
2.58x 568
Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry
2.38x 605
Private Households
2.36x 324
Chemical Manufacturing
1.89x 1,130
Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries
1.88x 2,411
Social Assistance
1.81x 6,051
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
1.80x 2,101
Food and Beverage Retailers
1.61x 3,502
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.08x
Warehousing and Storage
102 employed
0.19x
Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing
91 employed
0.22x
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
208 employed
0.22x
Support Activities for Transportation
119 employed
0.24x
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
68 employed
0.25x
Machinery Manufacturing
182 employed
0.28x
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
85 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Crop Production concentrates at 20.13x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$1,027,500 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$2,264 ▲
Rent/Mo
59.9% ▼
Owner-Occ
9.4% ▼
Vacancy
9.2x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Stretched
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$3,179/mo
1 Bedroom
$3,298/mo
2 Bedroom
$4,214/mo
3 Bedroom
$5,377/mo
4 Bedroom
$5,659/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,777/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Stretched market: Home value to income ratio of 9.2x is well above the ~4.1x national average; attainable workforce housing may be a recruitment friction.
- Rent affordability gap: None of the HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers fall below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,777/mo); workforce housing cost burden warrants attention.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
165,938 ▼
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 1 min below national avg
25.7 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
19.3%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
81.5%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
43.9% ▲
HS Diploma+
88.6% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
77,028/yr
15,215/yr
14,884/yr
12,110/yr
12,064/yr
11,468/yr
11,287/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
20.3%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
48.4%
Service
16.7%
Sales & Office
16.7%
Construction / Maint.
9.6%
Production / Transport
8.6%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 130,957 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 42,209 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Santa Cruz County shows strong potential for crop production attraction, with a 20.13x concentration and 7,140 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across crop production, scenic and sightseeing transportation, and beverage and tobacco product manufacturing creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Santa Cruz County, California, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Santa Cruz County, California?
264,926 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Santa Cruz County, California?
$111,093 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Santa Cruz County, California?
6.3% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Santa Cruz County, California?
$21.1B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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