PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA

39.1
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#339
of 387 metros
12%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Santa Cruz ranks #339 of 387 US metros, ahead of 12% - carried by its schools (96/100) and held back most by rent (0/100).

96
strongest: Schools
96
then: Wages
0
weakest: Rent
7
weighted dimensions

Where Santa Cruz sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

39 12th percentile higher than 12% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). This entry sits in this band. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Santa Cruz Life Score

Santa Cruz's composite score of 39.1 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #339 of 387, ahead of 12% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Schools (96/100) and Wages (96/100), which pull the composite upward, while Rent (0/100) and Cost of Living (3/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 109.9 (rent-RPP 164.3). BLS median salary $80,687, 91,730 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Office Clerks, General, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $4,214/mo (studio $3,179).

FBI UCR (CA): 477 violent, 1986 property/100K. NCES: 21.5:1 ratio, 12.8% charter. DOL infant childcare $17,920/yr. EPA: 116 Superfund sites (CA). Ranks #336-#342 below.

Dimension detail

How Santa Cruz scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 3/100 (20%)
Wages 96/100 (20%)
Rent 0/100 (15%)
Safety 9/100 (15%)
Schools 96/100 (10%)
Childcare 4/100 (10%)
Environment 80/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

109.9
Cost Index (RPP)
$80,687
Avg Median Salary
$4,214
2BR Fair Market Rent
477
Violent Crime/100K (CA)
21.5:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$17,920
Infant Childcare/yr (CA)
116
Superfund Sites (CA)
91,730
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Santa Cruz With...

Santa Cruz vs El Centro Compare → Santa Cruz vs Visalia Compare → Santa Cruz vs Redding Compare → Santa Cruz vs Wildwood Compare → Santa Cruz vs Waterloo Compare → Santa Cruz vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Santa Cruz outranks 12% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#336 Chattanooga, TN-GA 39.3 C-
#337 Burlington-South Burlington, VT 39.3 C-
#338 Gettysburg, PA 39.4 C-
#339 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 39.1 C-
#340 Glens Falls, NY 39.0 C-
#341 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA 39.0 C-
#342 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA 38.9 C-

CA Metro Scores

El Centro, CA C+ 46.7 Visalia, CA C 45.2 Redding, CA C 43.7 Yuba City, CA C 43.3 Merced, CA C 42.8 Vallejo, CA C 41.9

Using Santa Cruz's Life Score

Santa Cruz is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is schools (96/100) and its weakest is rent (0/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Santa Cruz head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Santa Cruz lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Santa Cruz's biggest strengths? ▼
Santa Cruz's strongest dimensions are Schools (96/100), Wages (96/100), Environment (80/100). Schools is top-tier nationally.
What are Santa Cruz's weakest areas? ▼
Santa Cruz's lowest-scoring dimensions are Rent (0/100), Cost of Living (3/100), Childcare (4/100). Rent weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Santa Cruz compared to the national average? ▼
Santa Cruz's Regional Price Parity is 109.9 (9.9% more than national); rent RPP 164.3.
What is the average salary in Santa Cruz? ▼
Santa Cruz median salary: $80,687, 91,730 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Office Clerks, General, Fast Food and Counter Workers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Santa Cruz's 39.1/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.