2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Santa Cruz, CA vs Mission Viejo, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Mission Viejo, is 31% more than it is in Santa Cruz and is 45% above the National Average.
- Santa Cruz unemployment rate is 4.5%.
- Mission Viejo unemployment rate is 5.8%.
 Santa Cruz, CAMission Viejo, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock5.8%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$126,320$69,021
 Family Median Income$145,326  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Santa Cruz, CAMission Viejo, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock4.5%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K3.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock3.0%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K5.9%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock5.0%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K3.8%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock6.4%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K9.2%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock20.4%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K11.5%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock25.0%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Santa Cruz, CAMission Viejo, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance17.4%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock9.4%6.5%
 Community, social services2.9%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock2.1%1.2%
 Education, library10.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.7%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock2.6%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.3%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock3.8%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.2%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.6%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  Unlock5.4%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 Mission Viejo    22 Reviews

Beautiful, but for the wealthy. If you make less than 150K, you won't be able to afford to live here. Even for Southern California, MV is off-the-chart expensive. A  More

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Over 12 years ago

Mission Viejo does not charge a business license tax for businesses located in the community and home-based businesses are allowed under current zoning laws as long as  More

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Please give me your advisese i need to know how is the best place to live near los angeles, safe, earthquakes, snakes, best schools, no racism, etc...,i donĀ“t know  More

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