IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Pajaro Dunes, CA
Pajaro Dunes is a tiny town of 143 people in Santa Cruz County, California. It's about 15 miles from Santa Cruz, CA and 30 miles from San Jose, CA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 72°F and winter highs 62°F, with almost no snow. The typical home is valued around $1.4M and rent runs about $2k a month.
143people
$1.4MTypical home
$2,264/moRent
72° / 62°Summer / winter
0"Snow
320Sunny days
66Rain/snow days
Is Pajaro Dunes right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Tiny town of 143
- Part of a metro area
- About 56 people per sq mi
- 30 mi to San Jose, CA
- 15 mi to Santa Cruz, CA
- 4 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $1.4M (≈$8,757/mo)
- Median rent $2,264/mo
- Median household income $112k
- Property tax about 0.7% of value
- 5.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 72°F
- Winter highs around 62°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
- 66 days a year with rain or snow
- Basically no snow
- Snow days are rare
- Rarely hits 100°F
- Rarely drops below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- About average violent crime (312 per 100k), county-wide
- Low property crime (1,282 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 73
- 21% of households have kids
- 34% are 65 or older
- 49% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 10% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 34 min
- 5% walk or take transit to work
- 20 mi to MRY airport
- 35 mi to SJC (major hub)
- 49 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 72% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1977
- 84% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 7 ft
- Right on the coast
- 117 mi to a big lake
- 14 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 130 mi to the nearest ski area
- 2 mi to the nearest campground
- 44 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 695 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 55 bars within 25 mi
- 283 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 6 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 53 museums within 25 mi
- 11 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 4 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 19% of California districts (reading)
- 4 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 6 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 15 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 8 mi to the nearest vet
- 7 mi to the nearest dog park
- 4 congregations per 10k people
- 13 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
Limited data: this place is small enough that most of its Census numbers (rent, home value, income, age) are blended with county figures. Treat its match as a rough guide.