• county
  • FIPS 06087
  • Largest town: Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz County, California

Santa Cruz County had 262,406 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 445.1 square miles of land. It ranks 25th of 58 in California by population and 57th by land area.

Population
262,406
#25 of 58 in California · #282 in US
Area
445.1 sq mi
#57 of 58 in California · #2,286 in US
Density
590 / sq mi
#10 of 58 in California · #245 in US
Median household income
$102,723
#13 of 58 in California · #112 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Santa Cruz County within California. Pin: Sacramento.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Santa Cruz County

Santa Cruz County population, land area and income

Santa Cruz County had 262,406 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 445.1 square miles of land. It ranks 25th of 58 in California by population and 57th by land area. That works out to 589.5 people per square mile, 6.1 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top tenth nationally.

The median county-equivalent in California has 187,274 residents; Santa Cruz County is somewhat larger.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $102,723 is in the top tenth among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

262,406

3144th1st

282nd of 3,144 (US)

Land area

445 sq mi

3144th1st

2286th of 3,144 (US)

Density

589.5 / sq mi

3144th1st

245th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$102,723

3143rd1st

112th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within California (58)

Population

262,406

58th1st

25th of 58 (CA)

Land area

445 sq mi

58th1st

57th of 58 (CA)

Density

589.5 / sq mi

58th1st

10th of 58 (CA)

Median household income

$102,723

58th1st

13th of 58 (CA)

How Santa Cruz County's population changed since 2020

Santa Cruz County lost 9,362 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 3.4%. That ranks 52nd of 58 in California for growth. The median California county changed by -0.6%, and the state as a whole by -0.2%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Santa Cruz County recorded 9,396 births and 8,321 deaths, a natural change of +1,075. Net international migration added +2,978 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -13,489. The largest single component was domestic migration, which removed 13,489 people.

271.8k2020260.9k2021265.9k2022263.7k2023262.4k2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
9,396
Deaths
8,321
Net international migration
+2,978
Net domestic migration
-13,489
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
-1,293

Where Santa Cruz County is

The Census internal point of Santa Cruz County is at 37.012300, -122.007800. It sits in UTM zone 10N. The map shades California's 58 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Santa Cruz County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Los Angeles County: -2.4%Kings County: +1.4%Sierra County: -3.6%Riverside County: +4.3%Santa Barbara County: -0.8%San Bernardino County: +1.4%Nevada County: -0.1%Santa Clara County: +0.1%Yuba County: +6.7%Fresno County: +1.4%Plumas County: -4.7%Monterey County: -1.0%Amador County: +3.6%Alameda County: -1.9%Tulare County: +2.0%San Joaquin County: +4.5%Alpine County: -6.8%Siskiyou County: -3.4%Butte County: -0.9%Kern County: +1.8%San Diego County: -0.1%Sacramento County: +1.5%Ventura County: -1.0%Yolo County: +3.4%Lake County: -0.6%Napa County: -3.4%Tehama County: -1.9%San Francisco County: -5.4%El Dorado County: +0.8%Calaveras County: +2.5%Inyo County: -2.7%Shasta County: -0.6%Lassen County: -12.3%San Luis Obispo County: -0.0%Mariposa County: -0.5%Trinity County: -2.8%Contra Costa County: +0.6%Mendocino County: -2.4%Imperial County: +1.1%Santa Cruz County: -3.4%Placer County: +6.9%Orange County: -0.5%San Benito County: +7.2%Marin County: -1.9%San Mateo County: -2.6%Colusa County: +0.9%Del Norte County: -2.2%Solano County: +0.5%Glenn County: -2.0%Tuolumne County: -2.7%Sonoma County: -0.6%Humboldt County: -2.9%Mono County: -1.8%Stanislaus County: +0.6%Merced County: +4.9%Sutter County: -0.9%Madera County: +5.8%Modoc County: -2.1%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -2.7%
  2. < -1.0%
  3. < -0.0%
  4. < +1.5%
  5. ≥ +1.5%
no data

Orange pin: Santa Cruz County internal point. Dark pin: Sacramento.

Internal point

Decimal
37.012300, -122.007800
DMS
37°00'44.28"N 122°00'28.08"W
UTM
10N 588269.1E 4096697.0N
Geohash
9q94x9usk
Plus code
849V2X6R+WV

Towns in Santa Cruz County

4 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Santa Cruz County, 135,232 people together, or 52% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Santa Cruz County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Santa Cruz with 62,581.

  1. 01Santa Cruz62,581
  2. 02Watsonville51,320
  3. 03Scotts Valley11,828
  4. 04Capitola9,503
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Santa Cruz County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 4 neighbors for Santa Cruz County. The most populous is Santa Clara County, CA, with 1,926,325 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Sacramento and the nearest big city

Sacramento is 111.7 miles NNE of Santa Cruz County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is San Jose, CA (population 997,368), 22.3 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Scotts Valley, CA (population 11,828), 3.0 miles away.

Santa Cruz County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Santa Cruz County is 06087: state code 06 for California plus county code 087. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $102,723.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Santa Cruz County, California?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 262,406. That is down 9,362 people (3.4%) from the July 2020 estimate of 271,768.

What is the FIPS code of Santa Cruz County?

06087. The first two digits (06) are California; the last three (087) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Santa Cruz County?

Santa Cruz, with 62,581 residents inside Santa Cruz County in 2024.

Which counties border Santa Cruz County?

4 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Santa Clara County, CA; San Mateo County, CA; Monterey County, CA; San Benito County, CA.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.