Santa Cruz County, California Population 2024

258,854

Santa Cruz County, California's estimated 2024 population is 258,854 with a growth rate of -1.03% in the past year according to the most recent United States census data. Santa Cruz County, California is the 25th largest county in California. The 2010 population was 263,174 and has seen a growth of -1.64% since that time.

Note: data after 2022 is projected based on recent change
Year
Population
Growth
Change
2029245,389-2,693-1.09%
2028248,082-2,693-1.07%
2027250,775-2,693-1.06%
2026253,468-2,693-1.05%
2025256,161-2,693-1.04%
2024258,854-2,693-1.03%
2023261,547-2,693-1.02%
2022264,2403,7651.45%
2021260,475-9,999-3.7%
2020270,474-2,396-0.88%
2019272,870-843-0.31%
2018273,713-1,152-0.42%
2017274,8653890.14%
2016274,4769810.36%
2015273,4952,6320.97%
2014270,8632,0270.75%
2013268,8362,4450.92%
2012266,3911,4640.55%
2011264,9271,7530.67%
2010263,17400%
1990229,73441,59322.11%
1980188,14164,35151.98%
1970123,79039,57146.99%
196084,21917,68526.58%
195066,53421,47747.67%
194045,0577,62420.37%
193037,43311,16442.5%
192026,2691290.49%
191026,1404,62821.51%
190021,5122,24211.63%
189019,2706,46850.52%
188012,8024,05946.43%
18708,7433,79976.84%
18604,9444,301668.9%
1850643-244,746-99.74%
2024 Growth Rate
-1.03% (-2,693)
County Website
Santa Cruz County
County Seat
Santa Cruz
2020 Population
270,474
Area
445 mi²
Density
582 people/mi²
Growth Since 2020
-4.3% (-11,620)

Population by Race

Race
Population
Percentage (of total)
White176,57265.74%
Other race40,94815.25%
Two or more races31,91311.88%
Asian13,1634.9%
Black or African American2,8391.06%
Native American2,5410.95%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander5950.22%

White

Other race

Two or more races

Asian

Black or African American

Native American

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

Santa Cruz County, California Population by Race

Santa Cruz County, California Population Pyramid 2024

Santa Cruz County, California Median Age

39.2

Total

38.3

Male

40.1

Female

Santa Cruz County, California Adults

There are 218,251 adults, (47,668 of whom are seniors) in Santa Cruz County, California.

Santa Cruz County, California Age Dependency

57.4

Age Dependency Ratio

27.9

Old Age Dependency Ratio

29.5

Child Dependency Ratio

Santa Cruz County, California Sex Ratio

Female134,31550.01%
Male134,25649.99%

Santa Cruz County, California Population by Age

Santa Cruz County, California Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Household Type
Count
Average Size
Owner
Renter
All96,4872.646040
Married46,4173.2372.527.5
Non Family35,4531.494852
Female10,0123.5345.554.5
Male4,6053.6756.243.8

3.15

Average Family Size

2.64

Average Household Size

60.0%

Rate of Home Ownership

Married

Male

Female

NonFamily

owner

renter

Santa Cruz County, California Households and Families

Male

Female

Education Attained
Count
Percentage
9th to 12th Grade7,3914.1%
Associates Degree14,9498.3%
Bachelors Degree44,28624.58%
Graduate Degree32,25117.9%
High School Graduate28,46815.8%
Less Than 9th Grade12,9507.19%
Some College39,87622.13%

Less Than 9th Grade

9th to 12th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Associates Degree

Bachelors Degree

Graduate Degree

Santa Cruz County, California Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Santa Cruz County, California Educational Attainment by Race

High School Graduation Rate

Bachelors Rate

Race
Total
High School
Bachelors
White113,487110,80060,402
Hispanic50,77234,1887,963
Other Race23,10313,7852,419
2+ Races17,28214,4685,047
Asian8,1787,5684,603
Black1,8661,678583
Native American1,5641,071246
Islander48243661

The highest rate of high school graduation is among white people with a rate of 97.63%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among asian people with a rate of 56.29%.

Santa Cruz County, California Educational Attainment by Race

All

Male

Female

Name
Average
Male
Female
Bachelors Degree$77,026$92,392$63,253
Graduate Degree$96,149$117,598$80,514
High School Graduate$40,062$49,849$30,318
Less Than 9th Grade$28,272$33,899$22,814
Overall$56,150$67,871$45,368
Some College$48,867$63,736$39,545

$56,150

Average Earnings

$67,871

Average Male

$45,368

Average Female

Santa Cruz County, California Earnings by Educational Attainment

Santa Cruz County, California Language by Age

Only English

Spanish

Other Indo-European Languages

Asian and Pacific Island Languages

Other Languages

Santa Cruz County, California Language

67.44% of Santa Cruz County, California residents speak only English, while 32.56% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 25.6% of the population.

Santa Cruz County, California Language

Santa Cruz County, California Poverty by Race

rate

Name
Total
In Poverty
Poverty Rate
White145,99314,4999.93%
Hispanic88,26611,83113.4%
Other39,4515,72614.51%
Multiple30,1893,28310.87%
Asian10,6731,51514.19%
Native2,46535814.52%
Black2,36734914.74%
Islander5797312.61%

11.38%

Overall Poverty Rate

10.82%

Male Poverty Rate

11.95%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in Santa Cruz County, California

The race most likely to be in poverty in Santa Cruz County, California is Black, with 14.74% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in Santa Cruz County, California is White, with 9.93% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 2.1%. Among those working part-time, it was 14.89%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 19.77%.

Santa Cruz County, California Poverty

rate

Rate
Poverty
Less Than 9th Grade17.22%
High School12.72%
Some College9.56%
Bachelors or Greater4.97%

Santa Cruz County, California Poverty Rate by Education

rate

Rate
Poverty
Male Unemployed22.69%
Female Unemployed18.99%
Female Employed8.17%
Male Employed5.47%

Santa Cruz County, California Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Santa Cruz County, California Income by Household Type

Households

Families

MarriedFamilies

NonFamilies

Name
Median
Mean
Families$127,331$169,323
Households$104,409$146,532
Married Families$151,702$192,070
Non Families$65,079$96,687

mean

median

Income by Household Type

Santa Cruz County, California Marital Status

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Marriage Rates

45.0%

Overall Marriage Rate

46.8%

Male Marriage Rate

43.1%

Female Marriage Rate

Santa Cruz County, California Married by Age and Sex

male

female

Santa Cruz County, California Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is 45-54, while the female age group most likely to be married is 35-44.

Santa Cruz County, California Marital Status by Race

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Santa Cruz County, California Marital Status

Second Gulf War

First Gulf War

Vietnam

Korea

World War II

9,165

Number of Veterans

8,617

Male Veterans

548

Female Veterans

War
Veterans
Vietnam4,321
First Gulf War1,246
Second Gulf War1,119
Korea760
World War II164

Santa Cruz County, California Veterans by War

count

Age Group
Veterans
75+3,193
65 to 742,979
35 to 541,356
55 to 641,242
18 to 34395

Santa Cruz County, California Veterans by Age

count

Name
Veterans
% of Total
White7,5375.03%
Hispanic1,2091.86%
2+ Races5662.57%
Other Race5171.74%
Asian2482.1%
Black2249.21%
Native American583.28%
Islander152.52%

Santa Cruz County, California Veterans by Race

Santa Cruz County, California Veterans by Education

Less Than 9th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Bachelors or Greater

5.85%

Veteran Poverty Rate

33.44%

Veteran Disability Rate

Santa Cruz County, California Veterans by Education

LaborForceParticipation

63.5%

Labor Force Participation

59.7%

Employment Rate

5.9%

Unemployment Rate

Santa Cruz County, California Employment by Age

LaborForceParticipation

Santa Cruz County, California Employment by Race

LaborForceParticipation

Santa Cruz County, California 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

61.52%

Born in Santa Cruz County, California

82.6%

Native Born

17.4%

Foreign Born

9.54%

Non Citizen

7.85%

Naturalized

Place of Birth

82.6% of Santa Cruz County, California residents were born in the United States, with 61.52% having been born in California. 9.54% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Latin America.

Santa Cruz County, California Place of Birth

Sources