Jury Pool Profile
Santa Cruz County, California
- County seat
- Santa Cruz
- Judicial district
- Santa Cruz County Superior Court
- Population (July 2025 estimate)
- 258,852
- Census PEP. The five-year ACS survey average is 264,926.
At a glance
Santa Cruz County is a 258,852-person venue. The county population is 60% White (Census race-alone categories). 35% identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race. Those figures overlap rather than adding up; counted separately, non-Hispanic White residents are 53.9%, which is the basis the chart below uses. Median household income is $105,437, $5,307 above the CA state median of $100,130; 43.9% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher. 33.6% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, most commonly Spanish, then other Indo-European languages (1.6%), a group the Census does not break out. The largest employment sector is Education & health services, at 29.8% of covered employment, average pay $77,296/year. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 6.05%, above the 5.36% state average. The county carried the Democratic presidential candidate in 2016, 2020, and 2024, taking 75% to 79% of the vote across the three.
- Population
- 264,926
- Median household income
- $111,093
- Unemployment
- 6.0%
Who sits on a jury?
50–70% White and ≥15% Black. This county: 60% / 1%.
Santa Cruz County has a population of 264,926, with a median age of 39.8. By Census race-alone categories, White residents make up 60.0%; Black residents 0.8%. Independently, 35.2% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The median household earns $105,437; 43.9% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher; 11.9% live below the federal poverty line.
Economic context
Largest sector in BLS QCEW: Education & health services, about 30% of covered jobs.
Education & health services is the largest employment sector at 29.8% of covered employment, followed by Trade, transportation & utilities at 15.4%. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 6.05%, above the California state average.
Political composition
Democratic candidate carried this county in 2016, 2020, and 2024 (avg winning share: 76%). 'Strongly' threshold: ≥60% avg.
Santa Cruz County was carried by the Democratic candidate in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 cycles, with 75.3% in 2024, 78.9% in 2020, 75.0% in 2016.
Languages, households, faith & health
Family households are 62% of all households (thresholds: ≥70% = 'family-dominant'; 50–70% = 'family-majority'; <50% = 'singles/nonfamily-majority'). 33.6% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home (threshold for 'linguistically diverse' is ≥10%).
33.6% of residents 5 years and older speak a language other than English at home. The most common are Spanish, Chinese, German or other West Germanic. Veterans account for 3.7% of the adult civilian population (8,035 individuals).