Santa Cruz County (), officially the County of Santa Cruz, is a county on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 270,861. The county seat is Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz County comprises the Santa Cruz– Watsonville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the San Jose– San Francisco–

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, CA Combined Statistical Area. The county is on the California Central Coast, south of the San Francisco Bay Area region. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay, with Monterey County forming the southern coast.

History

Santa Cruz County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. In the original act, the county was given the name of " Branciforte" after the Spanish pueblo founded there in 1797. A major watercourse in the county,

Branciforte Creek Branciforte Creek is a long watercourse in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. Branciforte Creek rises on the western slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains and discharges to the San Lorenzo River, which in turn empties into the Pacific Oc ...

, still bears this name. Less than two months later, on April 5, 1850, the name was changed to "Santa Cruz" ("Holy Cross"). Mission Santa Cruz, established in 1791 and completed in 1794, was destroyed by the

1857 Fort Tejon earthquake The 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake occurred at about 8:20 a.m. (Pacific time) on January 9 in central and Southern California. One of the largest recorded earthquakes in the United States, with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9, it ruptured ...

, but a smaller-scale replica was erected in 1931.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (27%) is water. It is the second-smallest county in California by land area and third-smallest by total area. Of California's counties, only San Francisco is smaller by land area. The county is situated on a wide coastline with over of beaches. It is a strip about wide between the coast and the crest of the

Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States. They form a ridge down the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco. They separate the Pacific Ocean from ...

at the northern end of the Monterey Bay. It can be divided roughly into four regions: the rugged "north coast"; the urban City of Santa Cruz, Soquel, Capitola, and

Aptos Aptos (Ohlone for "The People") is an unincorporated town in Santa Cruz County, California. The town is made up of several small villages, which together form Aptos: Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, Aptos Village, Cabrillo, Seacliff, Rio del Mar, and S ...

; mountainous Bonny Doon,

San Lorenzo River Valley The San Lorenzo Valley is in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Cruz County, California and was once a logging industry center of California especially during the rebuilding of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. Now it is home to over 35,000 ...

; and the fertile "south county", including Watsonville and Corralitos. Agriculture is concentrated in the coastal lowlands of the county's northern and southern ends. Most of the north coastal land comprises relatively flat terraces that end at steep cliffs like those shown in the photo below.

Flora and fauna

Santa Cruz County is home to the following threatened or

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

: * California clapper rail – endangered (1970) * California red-legged frog – threatened (1996) * California tiger salamander – Central California DPS, threatened (2004) * Coho salmon – Central California Coast ESU is endangered (2005) * Marbled murrelet – threatened (1992) *

Mount Hermon June beetle ''Polyphylla barbata'' is a rare species of beetle known by the common name Mount Hermon June beetle. It is endemic to California, where it occurs only in Santa Cruz County. There is only a single occurrence of the beetle on a stretch of territ ...

– endangered (1997) * Ohlone tiger beetle – endangered (2001) * San Francisco garter snake – endangered (1967) * Santa Cruz long-toed salamander – endangered (1967) * Santa Cruz tarweed – threatened (2000) *

Smith's blue butterfly Smith's blue butterfly, ''Euphilotes enoptes smithi'', is an subspecies of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. This federally listed endangered subspecies of '' Euphilotes enoptes'' occurs in fragmented populations along the Central Coast of C ...

– endangered (1976) *

Southern sea otter Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

– threatened (1977) * Steelhead – Central California Coast

DPS DPS may refer to: Schools United States * Dalton Public Schools, the public school district in Dalton, Georgia * Dearborn Public Schools, the public school district in Dearborn, Michigan * Decatur Public Schools District 61, the public school sys ...

is threatened (2011) * Tidewater goby – endangered (1994) * Western snowy plover – threatened (1993) * Yellow-billed cuckoo – threatened (2014) * Zayante band-winged grasshopper – endangered (1997) Historically, tule elk (''Cervus canadensis nannodes'') were native to the coastal grasslands of Santa Cruz County. Elk, sometimes confused with

bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

, were initially described by Miguel Costansó in his diary of the 1769 Portola Expedition near the mouth of the Pajaro River both on the way north on October 6, and on the way south on November 25. Later, elk were also described by nineteenth century American hunters. They were also described in Santa Cruz County by Jlli tribelet Awaswas Ohlone people, who utilized elk along with pronghorn (''Antilocapra americana'') and lived on the Jarro Coast (El Jarro Point is north of

Davenport, California Davenport is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California. Davenport sits at an elevation of . The 2020 United States census reported Davenport's population was 388. Situation Davenport lies along the coast of the Pacific Ocea ...

). Additionally, there is a "Cañada del Ciervo" (''ciervo'' is Spanish for ''elk'') close to the boundary between Rancho de los Corralitos and Rancho San Andrés, near the present-day Larkin Valley Road. This "Elk Valley" place name was given by José Antonio Robles who rode down, roped, and killed elk there in 1831. Lastly, elk remains dating from the Middle and Late Periods in Northern California were found in at least four late Holocene archeological sites in Santa Cruz County, all coastal: SCR-9 ( Bonny Doon site) and SCR-20 (Brown site) on the western slope of Ben Lomond Mountain, SCR-93 (Sunflower site) a coastal terrace on the north shore of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, and SCR-132 ( Scott Creek site) 4 miles inland. Pronghorn antelope (''Antilocapra americana'') remains were found at the SCR-20 (Brown site) on the western slope of Ben Lomond Mountain dating to about 1500 A.D.

Año Nuevo State Marine Conservation Area Año Nuevo State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) is one of two adjoining marine protected areas off the coast of San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties, on California’s central coast. The area is approximately 55 miles south of San Francisco. The ...

Greyhound Rock State Marine Conservation Area Greyhound Rock State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) is one of two adjoining marine protected areas off the coast of San Mateo County and Santa Cruz County, on California's central coast. The area is approximately south of San Francisco. The ...

and

Natural Bridges State Marine Reserve Natural Bridges State Marine Reserve (SMR) is a marine protected area located at the northern edge of Santa Cruz, California, approximately south of San Francisco. The SMR covers . The SMR protects all marine life within its boundaries. Fishing ...

are marine protected areas off the coast of Santa Cruz County. Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems.

Adjacent counties

Santa Cruz County borders four other counties: San Mateo to the northwest, Santa Clara to the north and east, Monterey to the south, and San Benito with a small border to the south.

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2011

2010 Census

The county of Santa Cruz has experienced demographic fluctuations in recent history. Between 1990 and 2000, the population increased by 11.3%. This is primarily because of new births, rather than immigration or migration. The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

reported Santa Cruz County had a population of 262,382. The racial makeup of Santa Cruz County was 190,208 (72.5%) White, 2,766 (1.1%) African American, 2,253 (0.9%) Native American, 11,112 (4.2%) Asian, 349 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 43,376 (16.5%) from other races, and 12,318 (4.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 84,092 persons (32.0%).

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 255,602 people, 91,139 households, and 57,144 families residing in the county. The population density was 574 people per square mile (222/km²). There were 98,873 housing units at an average density of 222 per square mile (86/km²). There were 91,139 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.25. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.8% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.8 males. The median income for a household in the county was $53,998, and the median income for a family was $61,941. Males had a median income of $46,291 versus $33,514 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,396. About 6.7% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.50% of those under age 18 and 6.30% of those age 65 or over. Santa Cruz County residents tend to be well-educated. 38.3% of residents age 25 and older hold a bachelor's degree at least, significantly higher than the national average of 27.2% and the state average of 29.5%.

Politics

Santa Cruz County was a Republican stronghold for most of the 19th and 20th centuries; from 1860 through 1980 the only Democrats to carry Santa Cruz were Woodrow Wilson in 1916, Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936, Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, and Jimmy Carter in 1976. However, the opening of UCSC in 1965 caused the county's political landscape to dramatically change. Today, it is a strongly

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

county in

presidential President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

and

congressional A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

elections. The last Republican to carry the county was

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, and the last Republican to win a majority in the county was Richard Nixon in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

. The last Republican to represent a significant portion of Santa Cruz in Congress was Burt L. Talcott, who was defeated in 1976 by Leon Panetta. Santa Cruz County is split between California's 18th and

20th 20 (twenty; Roman numeral XX) is the natural number following 19 and preceding 21. A group of twenty units may also be referred to as a score. In mathematics *20 is a pronic number. *20 is a tetrahedral number as 1, 4, 10, 20. *20 is the ba ...

congressional districts, represented by and , respectively. In the

State Assembly State Assembly is the name given to various legislatures, especially lower houses or full legislatures in states in federal systems of government. Channel Islands States Assembly is the name of the legislature of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The Baili ...

, Santa Cruz County is split between the 29th and 30th Assembly districts, represented by and , respectively. In the State Senate, Santa Cruz County is entirely within .

Voter registration

Cities by population and voter registration

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense:

Cities by population and crime rates

Economy

In the 19th century, Santa Cruz's economy was based on milling lumber, making lime cement from limestone, and tanning leather. By the mid 19th century, Santa Cruz was the second largest manufacturing area in the state. As natural resources depleted, tourism became the more important economic sector in the area. In 1989, Santa Cruz was named as a surplus labor area by the U.S. Department of Labor. A surplus labor area has an unemployment rate 20% higher than national unemployment. As of 2018, Santa Cruz City and Watsonville city are still on this list. 10% of jobs in Santa Cruz County are food producing/processing jobs. These employees make less than an average of $10 an hour. As of 2003, 21% of residents work outside of Santa Cruz County. This is down form the 28% outside employment rate of 1989. The agriculture businesses are significant enough to be prominent in local politics, where they influence issues of water, pesticide use, and labor. There are mandated living wages for Santa Cruz county, and individually in the cities of Watsonville and Santa Cruz. These occurred after The Santa Cruz Living Wage Coalition campaigned to set up ordinances. The low wage sector of Santa Cruz experiences workplace abuse. Data from 2015 show that in the county, 38% of Agricultural workers have experienced overtime pay violation, 14% of tipped workers reported tips stolen by their employers, and 50% of service sector workers reported violations on receiving breaks. It is California law for employers to make written workplace policies available. However, in a county wide survey, 30% of workers reported that they did not receive an employee handbook. Service sector laborers have a resource for navigating labor law through the Economic Justice Alliance of Santa Cruz County, a local organization that educates community members on issues of "sustainable wages and working conditions."

Housing market

In 2002, the

National Association of Realtors The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is an American trade association for those who work in the real estate industry. It has over 1.4 million members, making it one of the biggest trade associations in the USA including NAR's institutes, so ...

reported that Santa Cruz was the most unaffordable place to live in the United States. This statement remains true with 2017 data that shows that Santa Cruz is the least affordable county for renters. In Santa Cruz County, 60% of residents rent and a median monthly rent is $3000. UCSC's No Place Like Home Project reports that in Santa Cruz County, 2.5 minimum wage jobs would be needed to afford renting a 2 bedroom apartment. UCSC's "No Place Like Home" project identifies four main rental markets: agricultural workers, UCSC students, Silicon Valley tech workers, and short term vacation rentals. Short term rentals in particular have been a rising concern to local politicians, who have proposed parking restrictions to discourage short term renters. Rent control has been attempted as a policy in Santa Cruz three times between the 1970s and 1980s, but it never passed. National policies since the 1980s have deregulated rental markets, which decreased the rights of tenants and exacerbated frustrations for renters all across the country as well as in Santa Cruz. 27% of surveyed Santa Cruz County renters experience "overcrowding" in their homes, which is described as when there is more than one person per room of a house, which includes all rooms not just bedrooms. One of the constraints on Santa Cruz's development are environmental protections. The restrictions on land prevent development from responding to housing and employment demands, which is an issue particularly politically relevant in the Watsonville jurisdiction. This conflict between residents wanting to protect the environment and those wanting more housing is also racially divided, as most residents favoring environmental protection are white, while the population on the side of developing housing is more heavily Latino. A 2010–2011 report by a Santa Cruz County grand jury states that Watsonville had no policy for assessing environmental hazards, and would give out land use and building permits without any investigations of the environmental conditions of the land in question. One of the housing solutions that residents have resorted to is the occupation of accessory dwelling units. Commonly known as "mother-in-law" units, these secondary housing spaces on residential property used to be illegal to build. In 2002, Santa Cruz leaders changed the law and encouraged construction with affordable mortgages. The goal was to contain urban sprawl while still finding housing alternatives for residents in light of the crisis that was exacerbated by UCSC growth and Silicon Valley encroachment.

Land use

Debates about land use in Santa Cruz were particularly important after the

1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on California's Central Coast on October 17 at local time. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, approximately northeast of Santa Cruz on a section of t ...

, which destroyed the central business district of Santa Cruz and led to the loss of an estimated 2,000 jobs. Already contentious debates about land were present in the area due to its large tourism industry and the relatively new UCSC campus, but after the quake both private interests and public servants had a stake in how rebuilding would go. This led to a necessary compromise, a public-private partnership that debated the how to rebuild the pacific garden mall space, with considerations of green space, timely implementation, and supporting local business and economy. Many constituents felt left out of this process, and reported that the political elite and economic elite were monopolizing control over the rebuilding movement.

Top employers

According to Santa Cruz County's 2020-21 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the county are:

Winemaking and wineries

Winemaking—both the growing of the grapes and their vinting—is an important part of the economic and cultural life of Santa Cruz County. The wines of the David Bruce Winery and Ridge Vineyards were selected for tasting in the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 ( Tabor, p.167-169).

Education

Four-year universities

* University of California, Santa Cruz (public) in Santa Cruz, California * Bethany University (private, now defunct) in Scotts Valley, California

Two-year college

* Cabrillo College (public) in

Aptos, California Aptos (Ohlone for "The People") is an unincorporated town in Santa Cruz County, California. The town is made up of several small villages, which together form Aptos: Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, Aptos Village, Cabrillo, Seacliff, Rio del Mar, and S ...

K-12 education

School districts include: Unified: * Aromas-San Juan Unified School District *

Pajaro Valley Joint Unified School District Pajaro (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Pájaro'', meaning "bird") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, California, United States. It is located on the south bank of the Paj ...

* San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District * Scotts Valley Unified School District Secondary: *

Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union School District The Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District (formerly Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District) is a high school district in the greater San Jose, California, U.S. area. It operates two high schools, and is ranked the Best Schoo ...

Santa Cruz City High School District Santa Cruz City School District is a public school district in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. It serves 7,000 students in grades pre-K through 12, both within and outside the city of Santa Cruz, California, Santa Cruz. It comprise ...

- Covers some areas for grades 6-12 and others for grades 9-12 Elementary: * Bonny Doon Union Elementary School District * Happy Valley Elementary School District * Lakeside Joint Elementary School District * Live Oak Elementary School District * Loma Prieta Joint Union Elementary School District * Mountain Elementary School District * Pacific Elementary School District * Santa Cruz City Elementary School District *

Soquel Elementary School District Soquel (; Ohlone: ''Sokel'') is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, Santa Cruz County, California, located on the northern coast of Monterey Bay. The population was 9,980 at the 2020 United St ...

Transportation

Major highways

State Route 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered S ...

State Route 9 * California 17

State Route 17 * California 35

State Route 35 * California 129

State Route 129 * California 152

State Route 152 The following highways are numbered 152: Canada * Prince Edward Island Route 152 Costa Rica * National Route 152 (Costa Rica), National Route 152 India * National Highway 152 (India) Japan * Japan National Route 152 United States * U.S. Route ...

State Route 236

County routes

County Route G12

Public transportation

Santa Cruz County is served by the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District bus system. An

Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transit ...

"Highway 17 Express" bus between Santa Cruz and San Jose is jointly operated by Amtrak, the SCMTD and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.

Airports

Watsonville Municipal Airport Watsonville Municipal Airport is three miles (5 km) northwest of Watsonville, in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The airport covers and has two runways. The largest aircraft to ever land at Watsonville were 05-5141 and 05-5 ...

is a public general aviation airport. There are two air carriers based at the airport offering on-demand air charter: * AirMonterey, LLC (corporate aircraft) * Specialized Helicopters, LLC (helicopters) There is a notable private airport, Monterey Bay Academy Airport, which is a former military base. The nearest airports for scheduled commercial travel include San Jose International Airport, Monterey Regional Airport,

San Francisco International Airport San Francisco International Airport is an international airport in an unincorporated area of San Mateo County, south of Downtown San Francisco. It has flights to points throughout North America and is a major gateway to Europe, the Middle E ...

, and Oakland International Airport.

Communities

Cities

* Capitola * Santa Cruz (county seat) *

Scotts Valley Scotts Valley is a small city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, about thirty miles (48 km) south of downtown San Jose and six miles (10 km) north of the city of Santa Cruz, in the upland slope of the Santa Cruz Mount ...

* Watsonville

Census-designated places

* Amesti *

* Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley * Ben Lomond * Bonny Doon * Boulder Creek *

Brookdale Brookdale is the name of many settlements, institutions, and businesses in English-speaking countries. Cities and towns * Brookdale, California, an unincorporated town in Santa Cruz County * Brookdale, Kansas * Brookdale, Manitoba, an unincorporat ...

* Corralitos *

Davenport Davenport may refer to: Places Australia *Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality * Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia **Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta **District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...

* Day Valley * Felton *

Freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

* Interlaken *

La Selva Beach La Selva Beach (''La Selva'', Spanish for "The Forest") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California. La Selva Beach sits at an elevation of . The 2020 United States census reported La Selva Beach's population was 2,531. L ...

* Live Oak * Lompico * Mount Hermon * Pajaro Dunes * Paradise Park *

Pasatiempo Pasatiempo ( Spanish for "Pastime") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, located along State Route 17 between Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz. Bus service is provid ...

* Pleasure Point *

Rio del Mar Rio del Mar (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Río del Mar'', meaning "River of the Sea") is an unincorporated area, unincorporated village in Santa Cruz County, California. Rio del Mar is one of several small villages that form the unincorporated com ...

* Seacliff * Soquel * Twin Lakes * Zayante

Unincorporated communities

* Branciforte * Felton Grove * Opal Cliffs * Swanton

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Santa Cruz County. † ''county seat''

Sources

* Taber, George M. ''Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine''. NY: Scribner, 2005.

Notes

References

External links

* * Santa Cruz Wiki – The People's Guide to Santa Cruz, California *
Historical resources for Santa Cruz County
��from Santa Cruz Public Library
Santa Cruz County Conference & Visitors Council – Visitor Information

Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District

{{authority control California counties 1850 establishments in California Populated places established in 1850