Santa Cruz, California demographics

Santa Cruz, CA demographics: median age 31.1; 57.6% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Santa Cruz city, California · Incorporated city · GEOID 0669112. The survey estimates a population of 61,607 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Santa Cruz is 31.1 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.3 years. There are 21,713 households (±685). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	31.1 ±1.3	37.9 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 61,607
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Under 18	6,915 ±695	11.2% ±1.1 pp	22.0%	22.0%
18–34	26,822 ±1,390	43.5% ±2.3 pp	23.9%	22.8%
35–64	18,575 ±1,004	30.2% ±1.6 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	9,295 ±728	15.1% ±1.2 pp	15.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 61,607
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Male	30,441 ±806	49.4% ±1.3 pp	49.9%	49.5%
Female	31,166 ±828	50.6% ±1.3 pp	50.1%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 61,607
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
White alone	39,107 ±1,243	63.5% ±2.0 pp	39.7%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	1,095 ±344	1.8% ±0.6 pp	5.4%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	885 ±392	1.4% ±0.6 pp	1.3%	0.9%
Asian alone	6,299 ±562	10.2% ±0.9 pp	15.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	36 ±44 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.2%
Some other race alone	5,578 ±1,136	9.1% ±1.8 pp	18.5%	7.1%
Two or more races	8,607 ±890	14.0% ±1.4 pp	19.2%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 61,607
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	47,799 ±1,373	77.6% ±2.2 pp	59.8%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	13,808 ±1,373	22.4% ±2.2 pp	40.2%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 21,713
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Married-couple family	8,137 ±520	37.5% ±2.1 pp	48.4%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	597 ±162	2.7% ±0.7 pp	6.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	1,671 ±322	7.7% ±1.5 pp	13.1%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	6,275 ±607	28.9% ±2.6 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	5,033 ±611	23.2% ±2.7 pp	7.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 21,713
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Households with people under 18	4,359 ±461	20.1% ±2.0 pp	32.4%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	17,354 ±809	79.9% ±2.7 pp	67.6%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 21,713
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	6,275 ±607	28.9% ±2.6 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	7,671 ±750	35.3% ±3.3 pp	30.5%	33.8%
Three-person households	3,483 ±478	16.0% ±2.1 pp	16.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	2,470 ±406	11.4% ±1.8 pp	14.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	827 ±248	3.8% ±1.1 pp	7.7%	5.9%
Six-person households	409 ±194	1.9% ±0.9 pp	3.3%	2.2%
Seven or more people	578 ±260	2.7% ±1.2 pp	2.6%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 61,607
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Native	53,563 ±864	86.9% ±1.4 pp	73.0%	85.9%
Foreign born	8,044 ±862	13.1% ±1.4 pp	27.0%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 59,955
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
English only	43,361 ±1,350	72.3% ±2.2 pp	55.6%	77.7%
Spanish	9,469 ±1,051	15.8% ±1.8 pp	28.3%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	234 ±91	0.4% ±0.2 pp	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	462 ±205	0.8% ±0.3 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	467 ±181	0.8% ±0.3 pp	0.7%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	1,733 ±417	2.9% ±0.7 pp	3.5%	2.0%
Korean	384 ±275 · low precision	0.6% ±0.5 pp · low precision	1.0%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	1,845 ±410	3.1% ±0.7 pp	3.5%	1.1%
Vietnamese	152 ±83 · low precision	0.3% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.5%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	162 ±116 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	2.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	1,137 ±347	1.9% ±0.6 pp	2.0%	1.1%
Arabic	379 ±260 · low precision	0.6% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	170 ±93 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 36,150
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	1,745 ±414	4.8% ±1.1 pp	15.3%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	3,578 ±534	9.9% ±1.5 pp	20.5%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	7,237 ±704	20.0% ±1.9 pp	19.3%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	2,757 ±394	7.6% ±1.1 pp	7.9%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	10,318 ±774	28.5% ±2.0 pp	22.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	10,515 ±842	29.1% ±2.2 pp	14.4%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 61,308
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Same house	44,183 ±1,298	72.1% ±2.1 pp	89.2%	87.7%
Moved within same county	6,341 ±873	10.3% ±1.4 pp	6.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	8,819 ±1,036	14.4% ±1.7 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	1,451 ±342	2.4% ±0.6 pp	1.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	514 ±178	0.8% ±0.3 pp	0.7%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

3.8% of Santa Cruz residents (±0.8 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.6% in California and 8.4% nationally. 95.5% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Santa Cruz	California	U.S.	Compared with California
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	3.8% ±0.8 pp	6.6%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	95.5% ±1.2 pp	93.5%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	2.4% ±0.5 pp	4.3%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Santa Cruz . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Santa Cruz housing and cost context or return to the city profile.