2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Santa Cruz, CA vs Costa Mesa, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Costa Mesa, is 0% more than it is in Santa Cruz and is 28% above the National Average.
- Santa Cruz unemployment rate is 4.5%.
- Costa Mesa unemployment rate is 5.5%.
 Santa Cruz, CACosta Mesa, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock5.5%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock0.6%1.6%
 Future Job Growth33.8%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes9.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$46,720  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$96,391$69,021
 Family Median Income$145,326  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Santa Cruz, CACosta Mesa, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock5.4%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K3.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock5.0%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K5.9%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock5.5%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K3.8%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock7.5%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K9.2%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock21.5%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K11.5%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock15.9%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Santa Cruz, CACosta Mesa, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance17.4%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock6.1%6.5%
 Community, social services2.9%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.7%1.2%
 Education, library10.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock4.5%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock2.0%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.3%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock8.0%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.2%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.2%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support18.1%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.5%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair3.3%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock7.4%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 Costa Mesa    8 Reviews

Over 15 years ago

Costa mesa has awesome shopping but is way too crowded and I have had 3 cars stolen in the past 5 years along with countless break-ins and theft. Expensive. Close to  More

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Over 16 years ago

Costa Mesa has a near perfect climate . . . plenty of sun but rarely over 100 degrees (our house doesn't even have AC). Nestled between Newport Beach and Huntington  More

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We have a good amount of low-income, medium-income, and relatively high-income  More

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