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

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Highlights
- Household income in Santa Barbara, is 7% less than it is in Santa Cruz and is 23% above the National Average.
- Santa Cruz unemployment rate is 4.5%.
- Santa Barbara unemployment rate is 4.1%.
 Santa Cruz, CASanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock4.1%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$89,243$69,021
 Family Median Income$145,326  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Santa Cruz, CASanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock8.4%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K3.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock4.4%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K5.9%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock7.3%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K3.8%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock7.9%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K9.2%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock16.1%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K11.5%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock19.6%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Santa Cruz, CASanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance17.4%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock8.7%6.5%
 Community, social services2.9%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.3%1.2%
 Education, library10.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock3.3%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.7%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.3%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock8.3%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.2%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.2%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support18.1%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.7%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair3.3%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock6.7%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 Santa Barbara    51 Reviews

I moved to Santa Barbara around 23 years ago to study at Brooks, which like most of the Santa Barbara that I knew—has been destroyed. Homelessness, drugs, gangs, high  More

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Over 4 years ago

I fell in love with Santa Barbara about thirty years ago and finally moved here a few years ago. Because of the price of homes, it is an expensive place to live. The  More

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If you like high crime, paying a $4,500 a month mortgage and crazy high taxes, this is the place for you. It’s too bad because it wasn’t always like this. When I moved  More

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