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

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Highlights
- Household income in Santa Cruz, is 30% more than it is in Seaside and is 28% above the National Average.
- Seaside unemployment rate is 4.2%.
- Santa Cruz unemployment rate is 4.5%.
 Seaside, CASanta Cruz, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock4.5%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.8%1.6%
 Future Job Growth30.8%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes9.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$29,506  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$96,217$69,021
 Family Median Income$78,855  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Seaside, CASanta Cruz, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock10.7%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K2.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock7.9%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K8.9%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock4.6%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K6.4%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock6.1%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K14.3%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock16.1%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K7.7%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock20.7%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Seaside, CASanta Cruz, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance10.3%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock12.2%6.5%
 Community, social services1.2%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock0.7%1.2%
 Education, library5.9%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock4.3%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology3.8%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock1.9%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement2.0%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock9.9%5.4%
 Building maintenance12.2%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.3%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support18.0%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.9%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair7.7%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock5.2%13.1%
Reviews for Seaside    4 Reviews

Over 4 years ago

I’ve lived in Seaside for the past 20 years and I love it. I’m a fourth generation Monterey Bay family. Seaside hands down has the best views in the Monterey Bay. It’s a  More

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Over 15 years ago

Housing in Seaside is more affordable than it was, mainly due to the bursting of the housing bubble. There are still problems, though, mainly because of the huge number  More

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Over 19 years ago

unless you went to grad school, or are already rich, don't expect to be able to get a nice house here. You'll be house-poor(not able to afford anything outside of your  More

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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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