IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz is a mid-size city of 61,607 people in Santa Cruz County, California. It's part of the Santa Cruz, CA area. Summer highs average 75°F and winter highs 63°F, with almost no snow. The typical home is valued around $1.2M and rent runs about $2k a month.
61,607people
$1.2MTypical home
$2,452/moRent
75° / 63°Summer / winter
0"Snow
204Sunny days
65Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Mid-size city of 61,607
- Part of a metro area
- About 4,836 people per sq mi
- 25 mi to San Jose, CA
- In the Santa Cruz, CA area
- Has its own stores and services
Money
- Typical home $1.2M (≈$7,624/mo)
- Median rent $2,452/mo
- Median household income $115k
- Property tax about 0.6% of value
- 7.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 75°F
- Winter highs around 63°F
- Comfortable summers (dew point 51°F)
- 204 sunny days a year (74 totally clear)
- 161 cloudy days a year
- 39 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
- Above-average violent crime (525 per 100k)
- Above-average property crime (2,442 per 100k)
People
- Median age 31
- 20% of households have kids
- 15% are 65 or older
- 57% have a college degree
- Very diverse community
- 31% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 25 min
- 14% walk or take transit to work
- 27 mi to SJC airport
- 27 mi to SJC (major hub)
- 40 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 66% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1970
- 96% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Hilly terrain
- Elevation 82 ft
- Right on the coast
- 129 mi to a big lake
- 2 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 139 mi to the nearest ski area
- 4 mi to the nearest campground
- 25 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 886 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 67 bars within 25 mi
- 393 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 5 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 41 museums within 25 mi
- 10 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- Farmers market in town
Everyday
- Schools in the top 30% of California districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 5 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 5 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- Vet in town
- Dog park in town
- 4 congregations per 10k people
- 2 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