Santa Cruz, California Population 2024

61,021

Santa Cruz Demographics

According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Santa Cruz was:

  • White: 67.68%
  • Two or more races: 11.44%
  • Asian: 10.08%
  • Other race: 7.48%
  • Black or African American: 2.24%
  • Native American: 0.99%
  • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.09%
Land Area (mi²)
12.7 sq mi
Density (mi²)
4,789.70/sq mi
Growth Since 2020
-3.05% (-1,920)
The current population of Santa Cruz, California is 61,021 based on our projections of the latest US Census estimates (released May 2024). The last official US Census in 2020 recorded the population at 62,941.

Population by Race

Race
Population
Percentage (of total)
White41,53367.68%
Two or more races7,02211.44%
Asian6,18310.08%
Other race4,5917.48%
Black or African American1,3722.24%
Native American6080.99%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander580.09%

White

Two or more races

Asian

Other race

Black or African American

Native American

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

Santa Cruz Population by Race

Santa Cruz Population Pyramid 2024

Santa Cruz Median Age

29.5

Total

28.9

Male

30.3

Female

Santa Cruz Adults

There are 53,784 adults, (7,809 of whom are seniors) in Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz Age Dependency

33.5

Age Dependency Ratio

17

Old Age Dependency Ratio

16.5

Child Dependency Ratio

Santa Cruz Sex Ratio

Female31,04350.59%
Male30,32449.41%

Santa Cruz Population by Age

Santa Cruz Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Household Type
Count
Average Size
Owner
Renter
All21,5942.374753
Non Family11,2571.7330.669.4
Married8,0462.9770.329.7
Female1,5613.2746.453.6
Male7303.8345.154.9

2.89

Average Family Size

2.37

Average Household Size

47.0%

Rate of Home Ownership

Married

Male

Female

NonFamily

owner

renter

Santa Cruz Households and Families

Male

Female

Education Attained
Count
Percentage
9th to 12th Grade7772.24%
Associates Degree2,6447.62%
Bachelors Degree9,98028.77%
Graduate Degree9,82628.32%
High School Graduate3,59410.36%
Less Than 9th Grade8342.4%
Some College7,03720.28%

Less Than 9th Grade

9th to 12th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Associates Degree

Bachelors Degree

Graduate Degree

Santa Cruz Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Santa Cruz Educational Attainment by Race

High School Graduation Rate

Bachelors Rate

Race
Total
High School
Bachelors
White24,38024,06115,362
Hispanic5,7804,6901,706
2+ Races3,1672,9191,514
Asian2,2882,2301,634
Other Race2,1101,286259
Black841815296
Native American36929150
Islander444419

The highest rate of high school graduation is among islander people with a rate of 100%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among asian people with a rate of 71.42%.

Santa Cruz Educational Attainment by Race

All

Male

Female

Name
Average
Male
Female
Bachelors Degree$71,535$92,670$57,941
Graduate Degree$98,269$118,555$74,891
High School Graduate$35,750$48,471$22,660
Less Than 9th Grade$30,066$32,401$27,835
Overall$62,617$77,589$49,966
Some College$38,071$49,231$31,250

$62,617

Average Earnings

$77,589

Average Male

$49,966

Average Female

Santa Cruz Earnings by Educational Attainment

Santa Cruz Language by Age

Only English

Spanish

Other Indo-European Languages

Asian and Pacific Island Languages

Other Languages

Santa Cruz Language

74.38% of Santa Cruz residents speak only English, while 25.62% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 13.86% of the population.

Santa Cruz Language

Santa Cruz Poverty by Race

rate

Name
Total
In Poverty
Poverty Rate
White34,8025,33015.32%
Hispanic10,1522,77327.31%
Other3,5291,20834.23%
Multiple5,5001,13520.64%
Asian3,7531,11729.76%
Black95616917.68%
Native53615128.17%
Islander4449.09%

18.67%

Overall Poverty Rate

16.93%

Male Poverty Rate

20.41%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in Santa Cruz

The race most likely to be in poverty in Santa Cruz is Other, with 34.23% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in Santa Cruz is Islander, with 9.09% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 2.87%. Among those working part-time, it was 27.89%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 32.02%.

Santa Cruz Poverty

rate

Rate
Poverty
Less Than 9th Grade33.16%
High School22.08%
Some College13.8%
Bachelors or Greater5.34%

Santa Cruz Poverty Rate by Education

rate

Rate
Poverty
Male Unemployed47.92%
Female Unemployed34.16%
Female Employed15.01%
Male Employed9.09%

Santa Cruz Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Santa Cruz Income by Household Type

Households

Families

MarriedFamilies

NonFamilies

Name
Median
Mean
Families$165,792$201,337
Households$105,491$148,404
Married Families$187,778$-999,999,999
Non Families$55,600$91,292

mean

median

Income by Household Type

Santa Cruz Marital Status

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Marriage Rates

31.0%

Overall Marriage Rate

32.9%

Male Marriage Rate

29.2%

Female Marriage Rate

Santa Cruz Married by Age and Sex

male

female

Santa Cruz Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 45-54.

Santa Cruz Marital Status by Race

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Santa Cruz Marital Status

Second Gulf War

First Gulf War

Vietnam

Korea

World War II

1,560

Number of Veterans

1,391

Male Veterans

169

Female Veterans

War
Veterans
Vietnam662
Second Gulf War357
First Gulf War289
Korea78
World War II12

Santa Cruz Veterans by War

count

Age Group
Veterans
75+471
65 to 74428
35 to 54291
18 to 34191
55 to 64179

Santa Cruz Veterans by Age

count

Name
Veterans
% of Total
White1,2543.39%
2+ Races1522.7%
Hispanic1491.41%
Other Race852.28%
Black352.79%
Asian290.51%
Native American51.08%

Santa Cruz Veterans by Race

Santa Cruz Veterans by Education

Less Than 9th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Bachelors or Greater

6.36%

Veteran Poverty Rate

30.34%

Veteran Disability Rate

Santa Cruz Veterans by Education

LaborForceParticipation

61.6%

Labor Force Participation

57.8%

Employment Rate

6.2%

Unemployment Rate

Santa Cruz Employment by Age

LaborForceParticipation

Santa Cruz Employment by Race

LaborForceParticipation

Santa Cruz Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

62.2%

Born in Santa Cruz

87.49%

Native Born

12.51%

Foreign Born

7.02%

Non Citizen

5.49%

Naturalized

Place of Birth

87.49% of Santa Cruz residents were born in the United States, with 62.2% having been born in California. 7.02% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Asia.

Santa Cruz Place of Birth

Note: data after 2022 is projected based on recent change
Year
Population
Growth
Change
202958,621-480-0.81%
202859,101-480-0.81%
202759,581-480-0.8%
202660,061-480-0.79%
202560,541-480-0.79%
202461,021-480-0.78%
202361,501-208-0.34%
202261,7096,70612.19%
202155,003-7,938-12.61%
202062,941-2,446-3.74%
201965,3871800.28%
201865,207100.02%
201765,1973540.55%
201664,8434970.77%
201564,3461,0701.69%
201463,2764670.74%
201362,8097871.27%
201262,0225660.92%
201161,4568631.42%
201060,59300%
200054,5935,55311.32%
199049,0407,55718.22%
198041,4839,40729.33%
197032,0766,48025.32%
196025,5963,62616.5%
195021,9705,07430.03%
194016,8962,50117.37%
193014,3953,47831.86%
192010,917-229-2.05%
191011,1465,48796.96%
19005,659631.13%
18905,5961,69843.56%
18803,8981,33752.21%
18702,5611,611169.58%
1860950-57,671-98.38%

Santa Cruz Population by Year