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

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Highlights
- Household income in Santa Maria, is 24% less than it is in Santa Cruz and is 6% above the National Average.
- Santa Cruz unemployment rate is 4.5%.
- Santa Maria unemployment rate is 11.6%.
 Santa Cruz, CASanta Maria, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock11.6%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$73,300$69,021
 Family Median Income$145,326  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Santa Cruz, CASanta Maria, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock6.5%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K3.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock6.7%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K5.9%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock8.1%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K3.8%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock10.2%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K9.2%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock18.2%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K11.5%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock5.4%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Santa Cruz, CASanta Maria, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance17.4%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock3.5%6.5%
 Community, social services2.9%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock0.4%1.2%
 Education, library10.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock1.4%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock5.1%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.3%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock4.4%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.2%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.3%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support18.1%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock20.7%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair3.3%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock13.9%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 Maria    12 Reviews

Over 6 years ago

I live in Orcutt which is a town of around 35,000 on the south side of Santa Maria. Santa Maria has, as everyone has noted, the best climate in the world. It never  More

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I have lived in Santa Maria / Orcutt for several years, but it is time to leave. I have no issues with the weather. Our climate is mild and comfortable with no extremes.  More

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The weather is very mild without a huge temperature change with the seasons. The winters are chilly but not cold and the summers are warm but not hot. Of course there  More

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