2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Santa Cruz, CA vs Goleta, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Goleta, is 9% more than it is in Santa Cruz and is 34% above the National Average.
- Santa Cruz unemployment rate is 4.5%.
- Goleta unemployment rate is 3.9%.
 Santa Cruz, CAGoleta, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock3.9%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock0.8%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$104,830$69,021
 Family Median Income$145,326  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Santa Cruz, CAGoleta, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock7.1%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K3.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock2.6%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  Unlock9.4%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K9.2%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock22.6%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K11.5%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock16.6%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Santa Cruz, CAGoleta, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance17.4%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock12.3%6.5%
 Community, social services2.9%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock0.5%1.2%
 Education, library10.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.4%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock4.4%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.3%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock6.4%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.2%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.3%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support18.1%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.8%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 Goleta    2 Reviews

Lived in this area 2014-now (2022), Goleta for 4 years of that. Pros: *The climate is unbeatable, unless you enjoy being overly hot or cold, or snow sports which  More

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I live in Goleta and work part-time in Santa Barbara. I am semi-retired and have a decent income. Making wise choices of where to spend my income has always been  More

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