2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Santa Cruz, CA vs Kapaa, HI

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Highlights
- Household income in Kapaa, is 2% less than it is in Santa Cruz and is 27% above the National Average.
- Santa Cruz unemployment rate is 4.5%.
- Kapaa unemployment rate is 13.0%.
 Santa Cruz, CAKapaa, HIUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock13.0%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock0.2%1.6%
 Future Job Growth33.8%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes9.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.3%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$46,720  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$94,457$69,021
 Family Median Income$145,326  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Santa Cruz, CAKapaa, HIUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock9.2%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K3.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock2.9%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K5.9%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock4.5%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K3.8%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock5.0%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K9.2%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock20.9%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K11.5%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock10.4%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Santa Cruz, CAKapaa, HIUnited States
 Management, business, finance17.4%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock0.9%6.5%
 Community, social services2.9%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.7%1.2%
 Education, library10.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.3%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock2.9%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.3%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock3.7%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.2%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.6%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support18.1%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.2%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair3.3%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock12.5%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 Kapaa    4 Reviews

I have lived on Kaua'i, Hawai'i for about two years now, with about 20 years of prior vacationing (up to 1 month). Living here is much different than vacationing here,  More

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Over 7 years ago

My wife and I had the pleasure of visiting Kapaa in July of 2017. As tourists we found it a wonderful place. There were ample places to eat and shop for souvenirs.   More

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Over 8 years ago

For many, Kapaa is considered middle of the island in a way. Whether you are going North or going South, Kapaa seems to be a great midway point. There are tons of  More

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