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

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Highlights
- Household income in Murrieta, is 2% more than it is in Santa Cruz and is 30% above the National Average.
- Santa Cruz unemployment rate is 4.5%.
- Murrieta unemployment rate is 6.0%.
 Santa Cruz, CAMurrieta, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock6.0%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock2.2%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$98,466$69,021
 Family Median Income$145,326  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Santa Cruz, CAMurrieta, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock4.9%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K3.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock3.3%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K5.9%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock5.1%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K3.8%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock10.8%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K9.2%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock23.2%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K11.5%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock14.9%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Santa Cruz, CAMurrieta, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance17.4%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock6.0%6.5%
 Community, social services2.9%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock0.7%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  Unlock4.4%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.3%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock6.6%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.2%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.3%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  Unlock9.3%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 Murrieta    39 Reviews

Paul · 
Over 2 years ago

Very expensive to rent here. Many apartments in Murrieta charge as much as $2,300 for a single bedroom. But this is California, so maybe it’s cheaper than LA or Orange  More

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I moved here for my wife's job. It's a cookie cutter middle class community that costs 2-3 times as much as Texas. Homes aren't custom. They are tract homes on small  More

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George · 

A great place to live and raise a family. It’s a quintessential bedroom community. Very safe. Violent crime is a rarity here. Property crime is very low here too.  More

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