Home › Counties › Santa Cruz County, CA
The median home value in Santa Cruz County, CA is $1,148,774 as of 2026-08-31, up 4.62% from a year earlier.
Median Home Value
$1,148,774
Year-over-Year
+4.62%
National Rank
#15 of 3071
Santa Cruz County ranks 6th out of 58 counties in CA by median home price, and is +388.7% above the U.S. national median of $235,072. Within CA, the typical county has a median home value of $500,264, making Santa Cruz County +129.6% above the CA state median.
The typical home value decreased by 0.7%, from $1,157,195 in May 2026 to $1,148,774 in Aug 2026.
Monthly Zillow Home Value Index snapshots retained by HomePriceMap. A short history is shown now and grows automatically as each new monthly release arrives.
| Month | Typical home value | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | $1,157,195 | +2.9% |
| Jun 2026 | $1,162,058 | +3.4% |
| Jul 2026 | $1,158,616 | +3.9% |
| Aug 2026 | $1,148,774 | +4.6% |
Households here earn a median of $111,093 a year against a typical home value of $1,148,774 — a price-to-income ratio of 10.3×, past the 5× level generally described as severely unaffordable. That makes it one of the least affordable counties in the country relative to local wages. (How this is calculated.)
Reporting agencies in Santa Cruz County recorded a violent crime rate of 478 per 100,000 residents in 2024 — higher than most counties nationally. Property crime runs at 1,957 per 100,000.
Based on 4 reporting cities covering 132,910 residents (FBI UCR data — what this covers).
The median home value in Santa Cruz County is $1,148,774. That's up 4.62% from a year earlier. That is about 388.7% above the U.S. national county median of $235,072, and makes Santa Cruz County the 6th most expensive of 58 counties in California.
Median household income here is $111,093, so a typical home costs about 10.3× annual household earnings — expensive compared with other U.S. counties.
Reporting police departments in Santa Cruz County recorded 478 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. That figure covers 132,910 residents across 4 reporting cities, so it reflects the county's incorporated areas rather than every community within its borders.
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