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".
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 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:
Historically, tule elk 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 and lived on the Jarro Coast. Additionally, there is a "Cañada del Ciervo" 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 and SCR-20 on the western slope of Ben Lomond Mountain, SCR-93 a coastal terrace on the north shore of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, and SCR-132 4 miles inland.
Pronghorn antelope remains were found at the SCR-20 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

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 270,861. The median age was 40.2 years, with 18.9% of residents under the age of 18 and 18.2% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.5 males age 18 and over.
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.
There were 106,345 housing units, of which 9.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 58.2% were owner-occupied and 41.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 3.7%.
86.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 13.3% lived in rural areas.

Racial and ethnic composition

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 White, 2,766 African American, 2,253 Native American, 11,112 Asian, 349 Pacific Islander, 43,376 from other races, and 12,318 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 84,092 persons.

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%.

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

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: