Home values, rents and more in Santa Cruz, CA
September 2026 figures from Zillow and the U.S. Census Bureau · updated 2026-11-07
Open Santa Cruz in ProMap- Under $990k
- $990k–$1.2M
- $1.2M–$1.3M
- $1.3M+
- No data
How Santa Cruz compares
The typical home in Santa Cruz, CA is worth about $1,339,000, according to the Zillow Home Value Index for September 2026. Home values in Santa Cruz are 18% above the typical value in the Santa Cruz metro area ($1,136,000) and 3.7 times the U.S. typical value ($366,000).
Over the past year, home values in Santa Cruz rose 5.8%, compared with +4.8% in the Santa Cruz metro area and +1.2% nationally.
Typical rent is $3,418 a month (Zillow Observed Rent Index), about the same as the Santa Cruz metro area ($3,469) and 1.8 times the U.S. ($1,932). Rents rose 4.0% over the past year.
The median household income is $115,475, against $111,093 in the Santa Cruz metro area and $80,734 in the U.S. (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–24).
About 61,607 people live in Santa Cruz (American Community Survey 2020–24).
Santa Cruz has the 2nd-highest typical home value of the 10 cities in the Santa Cruz metro area and the 125th-highest of 886 in California with Zillow figures.
Part of: Santa Cruz County, CA · Santa Cruz metro area · California
More for Santa Cruz in ProMap Plus
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- 5- and 10-year price changes
- Days on market and months of supply
- Price cuts and sale-to-list ratio
- Price-to-income and monthly cost to buy
- Crime rates
- Homeowners insurance premiums
- Commute time to downtown
- Flood, wildfire and natural hazard risk
- Property-tax rate
- 2024 presidential vote
- Age, education and household make-up
- Amenities and transit nearby
Nearby cities
ZIP codes in Santa Cruz, CA
Sources
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), all homes, middle tier, smoothed and seasonally adjusted, September 2026. Rents: Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), seasonally adjusted. Population: Census population estimates (July 2025) for states, metros and counties; ACS 2020–24 for cities and ZIP codes. Income: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–24 5-year estimates. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files. Compiled by Home Economics.
"Typical" is Zillow's middle-tier value (homes between the 35th and 65th percentiles), not a median sale price. Changes are over the 12 months to September 2026.