Santa Cruz County (), officially the County of Santa Cruz, is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

on the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

coast of the U.S. state of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 270,861. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

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 San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

– Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area. The county is on the

California Central Coast The Central Coast is an area of California, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay. It lies northwest of Los Angeles and south of the San Francisco Bay Area, and includes the rugged, rural, and sparsely populate ...

, south of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

region. The county forms the northern coast of the

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by about 75 miles (120 km), accessible via California S ...

, 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, 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, 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

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 at the northern end of the

. It can be divided roughly into four regions: the rugged "north coast"; the urban City of Santa Cruz, Soquel, Capitola, and Aptos; mountainous Bonny Doon, San Lorenzo River Valley; 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, 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 – endangered (1997) * Ohlone tiger beetle – endangered (2001) * San Francisco garter snake – endangered (1967) *

Santa Cruz long-toed salamander The Santa Cruz long-toed salamander (''Ambystoma macrodactylum croceum'') is an endangered subspecies of the long-toed salamander, which is found only close to a few isolated ponds in Santa Cruz County, California, Santa Cruz and Monterey County ...

– endangered (1967) * Santa Cruz tarweed – threatened (2000) * Smith's blue butterfly – endangered (1976) * Southern sea otter – threatened (1977) * Steelhead – Central California Coast DPS 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 A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...

, 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). 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 The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

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, Greyhound Rock State Marine Conservation Area and Natural Bridges State Marine Reserve 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

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 reported Santa Cruz County had a population of 262,382. The racial makeup of Santa Cruz County was 190,208 (72.5%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2,766 (1.1%)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 2,253 (0.9%) Native American, 11,112 (4.2%) Asian, 349 (0.1%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 43,376 (16.5%) from other races, and 12,318 (4.7%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 84,092 persons (32.0%).

2000

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 255,602 people, 91,139 households, and 57,144 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 98,873 housing units at an average density of . 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 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 Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $26,396. About 6.7% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, 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 Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

in 1916,

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

in 1932 and 1936, Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, and

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

in 1976. However, the opening of UCSC in 1965 caused the county's political landscape to dramatically change. Today, it is a strongly Democratic county in presidential and congressional elections. The last Republican to carry the county was

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

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

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

in 1968. 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 19th congressional districts, represented by and , respectively. In the State Assembly, Santa Cruz County is split between the 28th, 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

Crime rates vary throughout Santa Cruz County. The cities of Santa Cruz and Watsonville are the highest crime regions, where the 34:1000 and 38:1000 per-capita crime victimization rates are worse than around 90% of the rest of California. The rest of the county has lower instances of crime, although the crime rate remains above average for California. Scotts Valley, Felton, and Ben Lomond have the lowest per capita crime victimization rates, at around 28:1000 people. Noteworthy crime issues in Santa Cruz County include gang crime, and issues stemming from the large transient population. Over a dozen Norteno or Sureno affiliated criminal street gangs operate throughout Santa Cruz County. The county also has the highest homeless population per capita in the state, with the county government's 2024 point-in-time homelessness census estimating the homeless make up just under 2% of the county population. Local law enforcement agencies include the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, the Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Scotts Valley, and Capitola Police Departments, University of Santa Cruz Police, State Parks Rangers and Game Wardens, and the California Highway Patrol. The Sheriff's Office runs two jail facilities in the county; a maximum-security jail in Santa Cruz city and a minimum-security jail outside Watsonville. 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 2024, Watsonville city was 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 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 Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...

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 On October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. Pacific Time Zone, PST, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred at the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz Cou ...

, 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 Santa Cruz (Spanish language, Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the largest city and the county seat of Santa Cruz County, California, Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population ...

* Bethany University (private, now defunct) in Scotts Valley, California

Two-year college

* Cabrillo College (public) in Aptos, California

K-12 education

Transportation

Major highways

State Route 1 * California 9

State Route 9 * California 17

State Route 17 * California 35

State Route 35 * California 129

State Route 129 * California 152

State Route 152 * California 236

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 "Highway 17 Express" bus between Santa Cruz and San Jose is jointly operated by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

, the SCMTD and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.

Airports

Watsonville Municipal Airport 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, and Oakland International Airport.

Communities

Cities

* Capitola * Santa Cruz (county seat) * Scotts Valley * Watsonville

Census-designated places

* Amesti * Aptos * Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley * Ben Lomond * Bonny Doon * Boulder Creek * Brookdale * Corralitos * Davenport * Day Valley * Felton *

Freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

* Interlaken * La Selva Beach * Live Oak * Lompico * Mount Hermon * Pajaro Dunes * Paradise Park * Pasatiempo * Pleasure Point * Rio del Mar * 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