2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Santa Cruz, CA vs Durham, NC

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Highlights
- Household income in Durham, is 31% less than it is in Santa Cruz and is 4% below the National Average.
- Santa Cruz unemployment rate is 4.5%.
- Durham unemployment rate is 4.1%.
 Santa Cruz, CADurham, NCUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock4.1%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock2.0%1.6%
 Future Job Growth33.8%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes9.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock5.3%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$46,720  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$66,623$69,021
 Family Median Income$145,326  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Santa Cruz, CADurham, NCUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock8.9%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  Unlock7.5%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K3.8%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock9.0%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K9.2%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock15.7%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K11.5%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock8.8%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Santa Cruz, CADurham, NCUnited States
 Management, business, finance17.4%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock10.8%6.5%
 Community, social services2.9%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.3%1.2%
 Education, library10.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.2%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock2.5%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.3%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock5.4%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.2%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.4%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support18.1%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.1%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair3.3%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock7.7%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 Durham    43 Reviews

I was raised in this city, left for work in the 2010s, and returned in 2018. This city has changed a lot over the years for the better. Growing up there was not a ton to  More

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Over 4 years ago

I've lived in durham for a few years and my experience is coming from someone who has traveled all over the world and has lived in many different states. First things  More

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Over 4 years ago

I live here for my entire life and it has never gotten boring, I love the scenery, nightlife and basically everything here. There is always something new to do and  More

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