Warm-summer Mediterranean
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz County, California · Population 61k · 26 ft elevation
Living in Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz has a warm-summer mediterranean climate: pleasantly warm summers (July highs around 74°F) and mild winters (January lows around 42°F).
Precipitation is moderate at about 31″ a year, and it essentially never sees snow.
Skies are exceptionally sunny (81% of possible sunshine). It never gets truly muggy.
Air quality is good: a median AQI of 35 and virtually no unhealthy-air days.
Santa Cruz at a glance
- Population
- 61k
- Elevation
- 26 ft
- Average daily high
- 70°F63th percentile
- Average daily low
- 48°F62th percentile
- Annual precipitation
- 31″20th percentile
- Annual snowfall
- 0″0th percentile
- Sunshine hours per year
- 3,662 hrs94th percentile
- Median AQI
- 3513th percentile
- Median home value
- $1.2M98th percentile
- Median rent
- $2,302/mo93th percentile
- Median household income
- $111k81th percentile
- Property tax rate
- 0.56%13th percentile
- Top state income-tax rate
- 13.3%
- Sales tax (state + local)
- 8.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.3%
- Homes with broadband
- 95%76th percentile
- Walkability index
- 14.594th percentile
- Average commute
- 23 min
- Math proficiency (8th grade)
- 54%64th percentile
- Reading proficiency (8th grade)
- 66%
- Violent crime rate
- 533 per 100k89th percentile
- Property crime rate
- 2,529 per 100k
- Overall natural-hazard risk
- 9879th percentile
- Outdoor access
- 7978th percentile
- Public land within 10 miles
- 6%
- Public land within 30 miles
- 6%
- Mountain relief within 30 miles
- 2,034 ft
Climate by month
| Month | High | Low | Precipitation | Snow | Sunshine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 63°F | 42°F | 6.4″ | — | 194 hrs |
| Feb | 64°F | 43°F | 6.1″ | — | 207 hrs |
| Mar | 67°F | 44°F | 4.3″ | — | 268 hrs |
| Apr | 69°F | 46°F | 2.0″ | — | 307 hrs |
| May | 72°F | 49°F | 0.9″ | — | 376 hrs |
| Jun | 74°F | 52°F | 0.2″ | — | 411 hrs |
| Jul | 74°F | 54°F | 0.0″ | — | 430 hrs |
| Aug | 76°F | 55°F | 0.0″ | — | 401 hrs |
| Sep | 77°F | 53°F | 0.1″ | — | 346 hrs |
| Oct | 74°F | 50°F | 1.3″ | — | 303 hrs |
| Nov | 67°F | 45°F | 3.2″ | — | 230 hrs |
| Dec | 62°F | 41°F | 6.0″ | — | 190 hrs |
Near Santa Cruz
- Twin Lakes, CA · 4.9k
- Live Oak, CA · 17k
- Pleasure Point, CA · 5.8k
- Capitola, CA · 9.8k
- Soquel, CA · 11k
- Felton, CA · 3.7k
- Scotts Valley, CA · 12k
- Seacliff, CA · 3.5k
Largest places in California
- Los Angeles, CA · 3.9M
- San Diego, CA · 1.4M
- San Jose, CA · 990k
- San Francisco, CA · 836k
- Fresno, CA · 544k
- Sacramento, CA · 525k
- Long Beach, CA · 458k
- Oakland, CA · 438k
Sources: NOAA climate normals, NASA POWER, EPA air quality, U.S. Census Bureau, FEMA, FBI, EPA walkability and EDFacts. Methodology