2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Santa Cruz, CA vs Ames, IA

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Highlights
- Household income in Ames, is 44% less than it is in Santa Cruz and is 27% below the National Average.
- Santa Cruz unemployment rate is 4.5%.
- Ames unemployment rate is 2.7%.
 Santa Cruz, CAAmes, IAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock2.7%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock2.3%1.6%
 Future Job Growth33.8%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes9.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock7.4%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$46,720  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$54,339$69,021
 Family Median Income$145,326  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Santa Cruz, CAAmes, IAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock16.1%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K3.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock8.4%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K5.9%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock8.8%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K3.8%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock10.6%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K9.2%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock14.2%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K11.5%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock5.1%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Santa Cruz, CAAmes, IAUnited States
 Management, business, finance17.4%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock12.7%6.5%
 Community, social services2.9%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock0.3%1.2%
 Education, library10.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock1.8%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.7%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.3%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock8.4%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.2%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.6%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support18.1%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock1.3%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair3.3%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock8.8%13.1%
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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Reviews for Ames    12 Reviews

Over 13 years ago

Hello, I am in San Jose Ca, but am seriously thinking of moving somewhere much slower for a better quality of living. I've just turned 59, so I'm kinda preparing for  More

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Over 13 years ago

Like every other city Ames has both good and bad points. The good points are: low cost of living, very friendly people, lots of outdoor activities and quite a few events  More

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Ames enjoys a high quality of life at a very affordable cost, substantially lower than many other communities. The presence of Iowa State University, a large (28,000  More

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