There are 37 cities in Santa Cruz County, California.
Note: As defined by the US Census Bureau, a city's official boundaries often extend miles beyond the city itself and may even cross county lines. As such, several thousand US cities officially exist in two or more counties (and therefore appear on multiple counties' lists of cities.)
City | Rank | 2024 Population | 2020 Population | Annual Change | Density (/mi²) | Area (mi²) | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto | 1 | 65,057 | 68,357 | -1.25% | 2,705 | 24.1 | City |
| Santa Cruz | 2 | 61,021 | 62,941 | -0.78% | 4,790 | 12.7 | City |
| Watsonville | 3 | 50,328 | 52,482 | -1.06% | 7,416 | 6.8 | City |
| Los Gatos | 4 | 31,816 | 33,415 | -1.24% | 2,754 | 11.6 | Town |
| Prunedale | 5 | 19,674 | 20,560 | 0.77% | 427 | 46.1 | CDP |
| Live Oak | 6 | 17,798 | 16,508 | 0.25% | 5,488 | 3.2 | CDP |
| Scotts Valley | 7 | 11,762 | 12,228 | -0.98% | 2,547 | 4.6 | City |
| Soquel | 8 | 10,648 | 10,721 | 0.67% | 2,316 | 4.6 | CDP |
| Capitola | 9 | 9,456 | 9,920 | -1.21% | 5,932 | 1.6 | City |
| Rio Mar | 10 | 8,972 | 9,713 | -0.2% | 2,991 | 3.0 | CDP |
| Interlaken | 11 | 8,159 | 7,596 | 0.74% | 832 | 9.8 | CDP |
| Ben Lomond | 12 | 7,416 | 7,378 | 1.16% | 886 | 8.4 | CDP |
| Pleasure Point | 13 | 6,894 | 6,173 | 7.7% | 9,192 | 0.8 | CDP |
| Aptos | 14 | 6,680 | 6,245 | 0.5% | 1,016 | 6.6 | CDP |
| Boulder Creek | 15 | 5,587 | 5,305 | 0.87% | 744 | 7.5 | CDP |
| Twin Lakes | 16 | 5,119 | 5,546 | 0.29% | 7,408 | 0.7 | CDP |
| Felton | 17 | 3,642 | 3,197 | -0.79% | 785 | 4.6 | CDP |
| Seacliff | 18 | 3,597 | 3,580 | 0.64% | 4,927 | 0.7 | CDP |
| Freedom | 19 | 3,408 | 3,959 | 0.71% | 3,008 | 1.1 | CDP |
| Day Valley | 20 | 3,226 | 3,414 | -0.4% | 174 | 18.5 | CDP |
| Las Lomas | 21 | 3,065 | 3,818 | 0.1% | 2,956 | 1.0 | CDP |
| Amesti | 22 | 2,976 | 3,240 | -1.2% | 1,014 | 2.9 | CDP |
| Bonny Doon | 23 | 2,888 | 2,962 | 0.52% | 174 | 16.6 | CDP |
| Pajaro | 24 | 2,665 | 3,509 | -1.08% | 2,869 | 0.9 | CDP |
| Lexington Hills | 25 | 2,615 | 2,656 | 0.54% | 554 | 4.7 | CDP |
| La Selva Beach | 26 | 2,233 | 2,544 | -1.89% | 422 | 5.3 | CDP |
| Corralitos | 27 | 2,125 | 2,260 | -0.7% | 239 | 8.9 | CDP |
| Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley | 28 | 1,640 | 1,397 | -3.13% | 177 | 9.3 | CDP |
| Pasatiempo | 29 | 1,301 | 1,226 | 1.4% | 1,462 | 0.9 | CDP |
| Elkhorn | 30 | 1,238 | 998 | -1.9% | 258 | 4.8 | CDP |
| Mount Hermon | 31 | 1,197 | 1,394 | 1.01% | 1,842 | 0.7 | CDP |
| Brookdale | 32 | 984 | 1,293 | -6.82% | 256 | 3.8 | CDP |
| Lompico | 33 | 873 | 881 | -2.13% | 258 | 3.4 | CDP |
| Davenport | 34 | 690 | 509 | 2.99% | 243 | 2.8 | CDP |
| Paradise Park | 35 | 563 | 468 | 2.36% | 2,025 | 0.3 | CDP |
| Zayante | 36 | 409 | 765 | -4.88% | 145 | 2.8 | CDP |
| Pajaro Dunes | 37 | 84 | 235 | -5.62% | 33 | 2.6 | CDP |
Note: City markers shown outside the county boundary mean that a part of the city extends into this county, but is primarily located in an adjacent county.
Palo Alto is the largest city in Santa Cruz County.
Pajaro Dunes is the smallest city in Santa Cruz County.
There are 37 cities in Santa Cruz County, California.