2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Santa Cruz, CA vs Morro Bay, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Morro Bay, is 16% less than it is in Santa Cruz and is 15% above the National Average.
- Santa Cruz unemployment rate is 4.5%.
- Morro Bay unemployment rate is 5.8%.
 Santa Cruz, CAMorro Bay, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock5.8%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.3%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$80,808$69,021
 Family Median Income$145,326  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Santa Cruz, CAMorro Bay, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock5.3%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K3.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock7.9%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K5.9%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock6.7%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K3.8%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock10.1%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K9.2%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock23.5%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K11.5%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock11.4%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Santa Cruz, CAMorro Bay, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance17.4%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock3.7%6.5%
 Community, social services2.9%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock0.7%1.2%
 Education, library10.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock1.7%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock1.1%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.3%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock6.4%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.2%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.8%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support18.1%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock1.9%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair3.3%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock13.4%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 Morro Bay    2 Reviews

Over 12 years ago

Morro Bay is mostly a small,quiet,working fishing and retirement community.It is located approximately 12 miles north of San Luis Obispo,Ca.The weather here is mild most  More

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Beautiful area, right on the ocean, cool huge rock in the water. I love the small, walkable community and the farmers market is awesome. The temperature is always  More

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