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Place dossier plate
SheetCA-SANTA-CRUZ-CA · Santa Cruz, CA 60,953 pop · income 84th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Santa Cruz
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Santa Cruz on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Corvallis · lowest
63,807
Corvallis · lowest
63,807 median HH income
42.4% of the leader · rank #1
Wentzville · near
111,409
Wentzville · near
111,409 median HH income
74.0% of the leader · rank #2
Peachtree City · near
111,421
Peachtree City · near
111,421 median HH income
74.0% of the leader · rank #3
Santa Cruz · this city
111,427
Santa Cruz · this city
111,427 median HH income
74.1% of the leader · rank #4
Grapevine · near
111,438
Grapevine · near
111,438 median HH income
74.1% of the leader · rank #5
Fuquay-Varina · near
111,447
Fuquay-Varina · near
111,447 median HH income
74.1% of the leader · rank #6
Encinitas · highest
150,471
Encinitas · highest
150,471 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Santa Cruz on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 60,953.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Santa Cruz - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Santa Cruz lands in the 84th percentile for household income and the 14th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
84th
percentile, household income
98th
percentile, home value
88th
percentile, median rent
14th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Santa Cruz, CA
60,953 people live in Santa Cruz, California - a small city by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $111,427 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 5.5%. Typical homes in Santa Cruz are valued around $1,180,100, and the median resident age is 30.7 years. 57.7% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 58.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 54 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Rapid Growth), up 29% from five years earlier. Santa Cruz's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 3128.2 in FBI UCR data, above the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Santa Cruz's yearly average temperature at 58.7°F with 30.6 inches of precipitation per year.
California carries a cost-of-living premium: the state registers 110.7 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Above Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $2,053 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts California's average monthly utility costs around $275 (state average). Commute times here average 18.3 minutes, with 53.0% driving alone and 19.3% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 88.7 out of 100 (Very High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Santa Cruz's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from reported crime to schools and households to housing and income to population change to work and mobility to climate and hazard context to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Santa Cruz, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, annual population history, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What can the FBI record say about safety in Santa Cruz?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 3128.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 37% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
What does the education layer cover for Santa Cruz?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 26 public schools within the city match. 57.7% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
How far does income reach against housing in Santa Cruz?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 10.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for Santa Cruz?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within California, the closest population matches are La Mesa (60,835 residents, $84,337 income); Pico Rivera (60,821 residents, $86,956 income); Woodland (61,256 residents, $87,880 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Jupiter, FL (61,097 residents); Bristol, CT (61,129 residents); Vineland, NJ (60,692 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Population change
Is Santa Cruz growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -2,381 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -3.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 54 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
2020 estimate
64,178
2025 estimate
61,797
Period change
-3.7%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the journey to work look like in Santa Cruz?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 53.0%. The reported mean trip to work is 18.3 minutes.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Drive alone
53.0%
Work from home
19.3%
Public transit
4.8%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 30,195 workers age 16+.
What physical conditions frame life in Santa Cruz?
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 58.7°F, with 30.6 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for California is 88.7 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
88.7
Annual precipitation
30.6 in
Mean temperature
58.7°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Highest-decile cost · BEA RPP 2024, California average
D
City profile score · Santa Cruz, CA
49/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Bachelor's+ share A+
57.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income A-
$111,427
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate C+
5.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
613 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Cost of living F
110.7 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Santa Cruz profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 90/100 (A+) · 57.7%
Household income: 82/100 (A-) · $111,427
Poverty rate: 62/100 (C+) · 5.5%
Violent crime: 9/100 (F) · 613 /100k
Cost of living: 6/100 (F) · 110.7 index
Where Santa Cruz sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Santa Cruz's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Santa Cruz highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Santa Cruz, CA (this city): home $1,180,100, crime 3,128/100k
Bristol, CT : home $252,300, crime 1,016/100k
Vineland, NJ : home $218,200, crime 3,123/100k
Corvallis, OR : home $480,600, crime 2,695/100k
La Mesa, CA : home $738,800, crime 1,795/100k
Pico Rivera, CA : home $621,400, crime 2,485/100k
Woodland, CA : home $505,200, crime 1,693/100k
San Rafael, CA : home $1,246,200, crime 3,015/100k
Montebello, CA : home $660,700, crime 3,108/100k
Encinitas, CA : home $1,466,000, crime 1,156/100k
How does Santa Cruz compare to other US cities?
Where Santa Cruz sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income84% higher than other cities
Home value98% pricier than other cities
Median rent88% pricier than other cities
Safety14% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to California alone, Santa Cruz ranks #370 of 441 California cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Santa Cruz against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to California only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
California-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Santa Cruz near the bottom of California's cities
Among the 1,458 California cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Santa Cruz ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Santa Cruz only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#389 of 1,338
71st percentile in California
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,458
0th percentile in California
Median Home Value
#166 of 1,343
88th percentile in California
Poverty Rate
#791 of 1,450
45th percentile in California
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#198 of 1,458
86th percentile in California
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within California only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
84th percentile nationally for median household income · 14th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Santa Cruz's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Santa Cruz's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Santa Cruz's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$1,180,1002nd percentilemore affordable than 2% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Santa Cruz's home-value-to-income ratio: 10.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#15,401 of 15,516
More affordable than 1% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#738 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)
At 10.6×, Santa Cruz sits in the pressured band:
national rank #15,401 of 15,516 and #738 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$111,427Santa Cruz, CA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Santa Cruz, CA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Santa Cruz, CA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)57.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)58.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
60,953
Median Income
$111,427
Median Home Value
$1,180,100
Median Age
30.7
Poverty Rate
5.5%
Labor force participation
58.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
57.7%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3128.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
612.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2515.2
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
58.7°F
Annual Precipitation
30.6"
Annual Snowfall
0.0"
Schools
Total Schools
26
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Santa Cruz's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
64,178 residents
2021
55,501 residents
2022
62,981 residents
2023
62,734 residents
2024
62,585 residents
2025
61,797 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Rapid Growth
Total Permits (2024)
54
housing units authorized
Single-Family
48
detached homes
Multifamily
6
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
42
42
0
$10.9M
2020
54
40
14
$13.4M
2021
267
53
214
$56.3M
2022
140
70
70
$25.3M
2023
310
42
268
$49.1M
2024
54
48
6
$14.5M
Permit volume increased 29% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
18.3 minutes
Drive Alone
53.0%
Carpool
6.2%
Public Transit
4.8%
Walk
9.9%
Work from Home
19.3%
Other
6.8%
Based on 30,195 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
California statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $275
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across California at $275 (electricity about $150 , water and sewer about $70 ).
These are California statewide averages, not a meter reading for Santa Cruz. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
California's BEA cost-of-living index is 110.7 (Well Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Santa Cruz is $2,053/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to California statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 88.7 / 100 (Very High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a California statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Santa Cruz sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Santa Cruz compares to similar-size California cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.