IntelliMoveTake the quiz →
Big small town

Living in Capitola, CA

Capitola is a big small town of 9,689 people in Santa Cruz County, California. It's about 4 miles from Santa Cruz, CA and 23 miles from San Jose, CA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 75°F and winter highs 63°F, with almost no snow. The typical home is valued around $783k and rent runs about $3k a month.

9,689people
$783kTypical home
$2,512/moRent
75° / 63°Summer / winter
0"Snow
320Sunny days
65Rain/snow days

Is Capitola right for you?

Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.

Take the quiz →Open in the app

Size & setting

  • Big small town of 9,689
  • Part of a metro area
  • About 6,078 people per sq mi
  • 23 mi to San Jose, CA
  • 4 mi to Santa Cruz, CA
  • 2 mi to the nearest town of 10k+

Money

  • Typical home $783k (≈$4,938/mo)
  • Median rent $2,512/mo
  • Median household income $103k
  • Property tax about 0.7% of value
  • 3.0% unemployment

Weather

  • Summer highs around 75°F
  • Winter highs around 63°F
  • Comfortable summers (dew point 51°F)
  • 320 sunny days a year (173 totally clear)
  • 45 cloudy days a year
  • 23 of 90 winter days are gray
  • 65 days a year with rain or snow
  • Basically no snow
  • Snow days are rare
  • 1 day a year over 100°F
  • Rarely drops below 10°F
  • Usually calm

Safety

  • About average violent crime (414 per 100k)
  • Above-average property crime (3,031 per 100k)

People

  • Median age 48
  • 21% of households have kids
  • 25% are 65 or older
  • 48% have a college degree
  • Mixed community
  • 10% of residents are college students

Getting around & homes

  • Average commute 26 min
  • 6% walk or take transit to work
  • 27 mi to SJC airport
  • 27 mi to SJC (major hub)
  • 40 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
  • 46% single-family homes
  • Typical home built around 1975
  • 95% of homes have broadband

Outdoors

  • Hilly terrain
  • Elevation 79 ft
  • Right on the coast
  • 125 mi to a big lake
  • 3 mi to the nearest trailhead
  • 134 mi to the nearest ski area
  • Campground in town
  • 34 golf courses within 25 mi

Things to do

  • 1,105 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
  • 95 bars within 25 mi
  • 487 coffee shops within 25 mi
  • 16 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
  • 56 museums within 25 mi
  • 15 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
  • Farmers market in town

Everyday

  • Schools in the top 38% of California districts (reading)
  • Grocery store in town
  • 4 mi to the nearest ER hospital
  • 4 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
  • 2 mi to the nearest vet
  • Dog park in town
  • 4 congregations per 10k people
  • 3 mi to the nearest college

Politics

  • Santa Cruz County: D+54 in 2024
  • California: D+20 in 2024

Natural hazards

  • Very low hurricane risk
  • Very low tornado risk
  • Moderate wildfire risk
  • High earthquake risk
  • Moderate flood risk
  • Moderate drought risk
  • Very low winter storm risk
  • Moderate heat wave risk
  • Very low volcano risk

Places near Capitola

More places in California →