Santa Cruz County, CA Population

Overview

272,138

Total Population

38.5

Median age

50.23%

Female population %

99.1:100

Gender ratio (M:F)

20-24 years

Largest age group

48.1

Total dependency ratio

White

Largest racial group

92,641

Hispanic population

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Age

Santa Cruz County's population is old compared to the rest of the country:

The median age in Santa Cruz County is 38.5, compared to 38.8 nationwide, according to the American Community Survey 2017 - 2021 5 Year estimates.
Santa Cruz County's population under 18 was 19.10%, compared to the 22.51% nationwide.
Santa Cruz County's elderly or the senior population (over 65 age) was 16.82% as compared to 16.04% nationwide.
Of the total population in Santa Cruz County, 15.64% were under the age of 15, 24.59% aged 15 to 29, 42.94% aged 30 to 64, 14.93% aged 65 to 84, and 1.89% were 85 years of age and older.

There are 1,276 more females than males in Santa Cruz County:

The female percentage in the USA is 50.50% while the male percentage is 49.50%, compared to 50.23% females and 49.77% males in Santa Cruz County, CA.
The Santa Cruz County, CA gender ratio is 99.1:100 i.e. 99.1 men to 100 women (0.991).
For male population, the largest age group is 20-24 years with a population of 13,384.
For the female population, the largest age group is 20-24 years with a population of 13,090.

Santa Cruz County's population has become increasingly diverse:

Racial distribution of Santa Cruz County population: 68.53% are White, 1.13% are Black or African American, 0.68% are American Indian and Alaska Native, 4.94% are Asian, 0.21% are Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 14.91% are some other race and 9.60% are multiracial.
Santa Cruz County's racial breakdown clearly shows that there is an absolute majority of White population in the county.
By ethnicity, 92,641 is Hispanic or Latino (of any race), and 179,497 (65.96% of the total population) is Non-Hispanic.
The largest racial group in Santa Cruz County is White with a population of 186,503 (68.53% of the total population).

Santa Cruz County's population has already reached its peak and is showing a trend of decline:

The peak population was 274,865 in the year 2017
From 2000 to 2010, Santa Cruz County's population increased by 7,362 (2.88%), as compared to the national growth of 9.63%.
From 2010 to 2020, Santa Cruz County's population increased by 7,288 (2.77%), according to Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program. For the same period, the rate of growth for the United States was 7.17%.
Between the year 2000 and 2022, Santa Cruz County's population was lowest in year 2006 at 249,860.