Santa Cruz County, California

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, 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, 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 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 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; 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:

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 – 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, 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 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.

| align-fn = center

| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010

The racial makeup of the county was 59.3% White, 1.2% Black or African American, 1.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 4.6% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 19.2% from some other race, and 14.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 34.8% of the population.

There were 96,261 households in the county, of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 27.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Santa Cruz County, California – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 1980

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|151,715

|171,203

|167,464

|156,397

|style='background: #ffffe6; |145,551

|80.64%

|74.52%

|65.52%

|59.61%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |53.74%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|1,396

|2,330

|2,160

|2,304

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,850

|0.74%

|1.01%

|0.85%

|0.88%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.05%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|1,515

|1,310

|1,180

|978

|style='background: #ffffe6; |853

|0.81%

|0.57%

|0.46%

|0.37%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.31%

|Asian alone (NH)

|4,985

|7,690

|8,464

|10,658

|style='background: #ffffe6; |12,072

|2.65%

|3.35%

|3.31%

|4.06%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.46%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|311

|292

|style='background: #ffffe6; |277

|0.12%

|0.11%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.10%

|Other race alone (NH)

|882

|404

|858

|612

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,649

|0.47%

|0.18%

|0.34%

|0.23%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.61%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|6,679

|7,049

|style='background: #ffffe6; |13,310

|2.61%

|2.69%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.91%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|27,648

|46,797

|68,486

|84,092

|style='background: #ffffe6; |94,299

|14.70%

|20.37%

|26.79%

|32.05%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |34.81%

|Total

|188,141

|229,734

|255,602

|262,382

|style='background: #ffffe6; |270,861

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

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, 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%).

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"

!colspan=10|Population reported at 2010 United States census

| |||| || || || || || || ||

| Santa Cruz County

|align="right"|262,382||align="right"|190,208||align="right"|2,766||align="right"|2,253||align="right"|11,112||align="right"|349||align="right"|43,376||align="right"|12,318||align="right"|84,092

| |||| || || || || || || ||

|Capitola

|align="right"|9,918||align="right"|7,963||align="right"|123||align="right"|59||align="right"|424||align="right"|10||align="right"|869||align="right"|470||align="right"|1,957

|Santa Cruz

|align="right"|59,946||align="right"|44,661||align="right"|1,071||align="right"|440||align="right"|4,591||align="right"|108||align="right"|5,673||align="right"|3,402||align="right"|11,624

|Scotts Valley

|align="right"|11,580||align="right"|9,958||align="right"|101||align="right"|57||align="right"|590||align="right"|18||align="right"|292||align="right"|564||align="right"|1,158

|Watsonville

|align="right"|51,199||align="right"|22,399||align="right"|358||align="right"|629||align="right"|1,664||align="right"|40||align="right"|23,844||align="right"|2,265||align="right"|41,656

| |||| || || || || || || ||

|Amesti

|align="right"|3,478||align="right"|1,889||align="right"|12||align="right"|41||align="right"|89||align="right"|1||align="right"|1,309||align="right"|137||align="right"|2,273

|Aptos

|align="right"|6,220||align="right"|5,420||align="right"|58||align="right"|43||align="right"|247||align="right"|8||align="right"|175||align="right"|269||align="right"|611

|Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley

|align="right"|2,381||align="right"|1,936||align="right"|12||align="right"|5||align="right"|55||align="right"|1||align="right"|295||align="right"|77||align="right"|541

|Ben Lomond

|align="right"|6,234||align="right"|5,692||align="right"|32||align="right"|51||align="right"|70||align="right"|11||align="right"|98||align="right"|280||align="right"|515

|Bonny Doon

|align="right"|2,678||align="right"|2,474||align="right"|9||align="right"|15||align="right"|51||align="right"|5||align="right"|48||align="right"|76||align="right"|168

|Boulder Creek

|align="right"|4,923||align="right"|4,429||align="right"|54||align="right"|31||align="right"|81||align="right"|5||align="right"|119||align="right"|204||align="right"|366

|Brookdale

|align="right"|1,991||align="right"|1,790||align="right"|9||align="right"|12||align="right"|19||align="right"|8||align="right"|66||align="right"|87||align="right"|202

|Corralitos

|align="right"|2,326||align="right"|1,980||align="right"|16||align="right"|12||align="right"|48||align="right"|1||align="right"|190||align="right"|79||align="right"|532

|Davenport

|align="right"|408||align="right"|272||align="right"|6||align="right"|5||align="right"|12||align="right"|0||align="right"|82||align="right"|31||align="right"|172

|Day Valley

|align="right"|3,409||align="right"|2,898||align="right"|20||align="right"|23||align="right"|85||align="right"|4||align="right"|208||align="right"|171||align="right"|470

|Felton

|align="right"|4,057||align="right"|3,691||align="right"|25||align="right"|29||align="right"|69||align="right"|11||align="right"|60||align="right"|172||align="right"|283

|Freedom

|align="right"|3,070||align="right"|1,452||align="right"|44||align="right"|31||align="right"|100||align="right"|0||align="right"|1,285||align="right"|158||align="right"|2,170

|Interlaken

|align="right"|7,321||align="right"|3,856||align="right"|58||align="right"|128||align="right"|302||align="right"|2||align="right"|2,573||align="right"|402||align="right"|5,261

|La Selva Beach

|align="right"|2,843||align="right"|2,399||align="right"|27||align="right"|23||align="right"|116||align="right"|3||align="right"|146||align="right"|129||align="right"|372

|Live Oak

|align="right"|17,158||align="right"|12,636||align="right"|240||align="right"|171||align="right"|773||align="right"|41||align="right"|2,444||align="right"|853||align="right"|4,796

|Lompico

|align="right"|1,137||align="right"|1,005||align="right"|6||align="right"|12||align="right"|21||align="right"|4||align="right"|25||align="right"|64||align="right"|115

|Mount Hermon

|align="right"|1,037||align="right"|964||align="right"|6||align="right"|3||align="right"|14||align="right"|1||align="right"|18||align="right"|31||align="right"|83

|Pajaro Dunes

|align="right"|144||align="right"|92||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|6||align="right"|0||align="right"|45||align="right"|1||align="right"|54

|Paradise Park

|align="right"|389||align="right"|371||align="right"|2||align="right"|3||align="right"|3||align="right"|0||align="right"|4||align="right"|6||align="right"|15

|Pasatiempo

|align="right"|1,041||align="right"|925||align="right"|5||align="right"|6||align="right"|34||align="right"|1||align="right"|22||align="right"|48||align="right"|85

|Pleasure Point

|align="right"|5,846||align="right"|4,847||align="right"|63||align="right"|45||align="right"|144||align="right"|5||align="right"|506||align="right"|236||align="right"|1,140

|Rio del Mar

|align="right"|9,216||align="right"|8,310||align="right"|61||align="right"|50||align="right"|313||align="right"|7||align="right"|188||align="right"|287||align="right"|899

|Seacliff

|align="right"|3,267||align="right"|2,758||align="right"|28||align="right"|40||align="right"|100||align="right"|4||align="right"|189||align="right"|148||align="right"|482

|Soquel

|align="right"|9,644||align="right"|7,898||align="right"|85||align="right"|71||align="right"|356||align="right"|21||align="right"|693||align="right"|520||align="right"|1,606

|Twin Lakes

|align="right"|4,917||align="right"|3,900||align="right"|70||align="right"|61||align="right"|126||align="right"|8||align="right"|534||align="right"|218||align="right"|1,109

|Zayante

|align="right"|705||align="right"|647||align="right"|10||align="right"|6||align="right"|4||align="right"|0||align="right"|18||align="right"|20||align="right"|57

| |||| || || || || || || ||

|All others not CDPs (combined)

|align="right"|23,899||align="right"|20,696||align="right"|155||align="right"|151||align="right"|605||align="right"|21||align="right"|1,358||align="right"|913||align="right"|3,320

2000 census

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 . 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 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%.

Government

Santa Cruz County is a general-law county governed by a five member Board of Supervisors. The board consists of five members, elected by districts, who serve four-year staggered terms.

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 county in presidential and congressional elections. The last Republican to carry the county was Ronald Reagan in 1980, and the last Republican to win a majority in the county was Richard Nixon 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

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"

! colspan=3 | Population and registered voters

! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Total population

| colspan=2 | 259,402

! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" |   Registered voters

| 158,244

| 61.0%

! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" |     Democratic

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:

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"

! colspan="3" | Population and crime rates

! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Population

| 1,215 || 4.68

! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" |   Homicide

| 6,480 || 24.98

! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" |   Motor vehicle theft

! data-sort-type="number" | Violent crimes

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.

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.

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.

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, which destroyed the central business district of Santa Cruz and led to the loss of an estimated 2,000 jobs. the top employers in the county are:

{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1"

! #

! Employer

!Product/Service

! # of Employees

|University of California, Santa Cruz

|Education

|1,000–4,999

|Pajaro Valley Unified School District

|Education

|1,000–4,999

|County of Santa Cruz

|County Services

|1,000–4,999

|Dominican Hospital

|Hospital

|1,000–4,999

|Santa Cruz Governmental Center

|City Services

|1,000–4,999

|Graniterock

|Excavating Contractors

|500–999

|Plantronics

|Telephone Apparatus Mfg.

|500–999

|Watsonville Community Hospital

|Hospital

|500–999

|Source Naturals

|Vitamin Manufacturer

|500–999

|10

|Santa Cruz Health Center

|Clinics

|500–999

|11

|Monterey Mushrooms

|Agriculture

|500–999

|12

|Larse Farms Inc

|Agriculture

|500–999

Winemaking and wineries

thumb|right|Vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains

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

K-12 education

School districts include:

Unified:

Aromas-San Juan Unified School District
Pajaro Valley Joint Unified School District
San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District
Scotts Valley Unified School District

Secondary:

Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union School District
Santa Cruz City High School District - 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

Transportation

Major highways

20px State Route 1
20px State Route 9
20px State Route 17
20px State Route 35
25px State Route 129
25px State Route 152
25px State Route 236

County routes

25px 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 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
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 2020 census of Santa Cruz County.

† county seat

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Rank

!City/Town/etc.

!Municipal type

!Population (2020 census)

|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"

| 1

|† Santa Cruz

| City

| 62,956

|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"

| 2

|Watsonville

| City

| 52,590

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 3

|Live Oak

| CDP

| 17,038

|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"

| 4

|Scotts Valley

| City

| 12,224

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 5

|Soquel

| CDP

| 9,980

|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"

| 6

|Capitola

| City

| 9,456

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 7

|Rio del Mar

| CDP

| 9,128

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 8

|Interlaken

| CDP

| 7,368

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 9

|Aptos

| CDP

| 6,664

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 10

|Ben Lomond

| CDP

| 6,337

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 11

|Pleasure Point

| CDP

| 5,821

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 12

|Boulder Creek

| CDP

| 5,429

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 13

|Twin Lakes

| CDP

| 4,944

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 14

|Felton

| CDP

| 4,489

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 15

|Freedom

| CDP

| 3,835

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 16

|Day Valley

| CDP

| 3,410

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 17

|Seacliff

| CDP

| 3,280

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 18

|Bonny Doon

| CDP

| 2,868

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 19

|Amesti

| CDP

| 2,637

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 20

|La Selva Beach

| CDP

| 2,531

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 21

|Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley

| CDP

| 2,383

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 22

|Corralitos

| CDP

| 2,342

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 23

|Brookdale

| CDP

| 2,043

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 24

|Lompico

| CDP

| 1,154

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 25

|Mount Hermon

| CDP

| 1,110

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 26

|Pasatiempo

| CDP

| 1,093

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 27

|Zayante

| CDP

| 729

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 28

|Davenport

| CDP

| 388

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 29

|Paradise Park

| CDP

| 367

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 30

|Pajaro Dunes

| CDP

| 122

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
List of movies shot in Santa Cruz County
Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District
QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
Hiking trails in Santa Cruz County

History

Geography

Flora and fauna

Racial and ethnic composition

2010 census

2000 census

Government

Politics

Voter registration

Housing market

Land use

Winemaking and wineries

Education

Four-year universities

Two-year college

K-12 education

Transportation

Major highways

County routes

Public transportation

Airports

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Population ranking

See also

Notes

References

External links