2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Salem, MA vs Santa Cruz, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Santa Cruz, is 32% more than it is in Salem and is 28% above the National Average.
- Salem unemployment rate is 7.1%.
- Santa Cruz unemployment rate is 4.5%.
 Salem, MASanta Cruz, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock4.5%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.8%1.6%
 Future Job Growth36.3%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes6.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$42,944  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$96,217$69,021
 Family Median Income$90,663  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Salem, MASanta Cruz, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock10.7%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K6.0%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock7.9%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K6.4%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock4.6%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K5.6%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock6.1%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K11.1%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock16.1%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K9.0%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock20.7%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Salem, MASanta Cruz, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance22.1%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock12.2%6.5%
 Community, social services2.6%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock0.7%1.2%
 Education, library8.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock4.3%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology4.9%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock1.9%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement2.0%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock9.9%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.9%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.3%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support22.9%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.9%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair4.6%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock5.2%13.1%
Reviews for Salem    4 Reviews

I've been in Salem, Massachusetts for a year now because it brought me up here for my husband's job. Salem may be a great place to visit during Halloween but other  More

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Over 12 years ago

My husband and I move to Salem, MA from Long Island NY five years ago and we love it! We kept on visiting for Halloween and we just decided to move here for the hell of  More

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Over 18 years ago

We are family friendly, albeit strange. We celebrate Halloween for a month. Check out the Haunted Happenings  More

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Reviews for Santa Cruz    44 Reviews

I lived in the Santa Cruz area for 20 years. UCSC alum. Our kids were born there. There are wonderful things about Santa Cruz, but also many serious problems that we  More

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Over 5 years ago

I have been here for four generations! My kids are the fifth. I guess that should tell you how wonderful it is here, at least for us. It's so cool to have world class  More

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I was born over the hill in San Jose area, and as a kid I loved coming over to the boardwalk. Santa Cruz has always been and always will be a town of diversity,  More

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