{"id":763,"date":"2023-01-19T15:08:29","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T15:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=763"},"modified":"2026-07-31T18:53:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T18:53:10","slug":"santa-cruz-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/santa-cruz-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Santa Cruz County, California"},"content":{"rendered":"

Santa Cruz County is a county in California, United States, on the northern shore of Monterey Bay about 32 miles southwest of San Jose. It had a population of 270,861 at the 2020 census, an estimated 258,852 by 2025, and covers 607 square miles (1,570 km2) centred near 37\u00b002\u2032N 122\u00b001\u2032W.<\/p>\n

Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city; its postal code is 95060. The county holds 4 incorporated cities and 26 unincorporated communities, and it runs on Pacific Time. Its FIPS code is 06087.<\/p>\n

Towns & Villages in Santa Cruz County<\/h2>\n

Thirty named places sit inside the county line. Only four are incorporated cities \u2014 Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Scotts Valley and Capitola. The rest are census-designated places: real communities with names, road signs and mail delivery, but no city council of their own. Populations below are 2020 census counts; a dash means the place has no separate census count or no ZIP of its own. California has no civil townships, so that column is omitted here.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Place<\/th>\nType<\/th>\nPop.<\/th>\nZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Amesti<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n3,478<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aptos<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n6,220<\/td>\n95003<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n2,381<\/td>\n95003<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ben Lomond<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n6,234<\/td>\n95005<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bonny Doon<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n2,678<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Boulder Creek<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n4,923<\/td>\n95006<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Brookdale<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n1,991<\/td>\n95007<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Capitola<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n9,918<\/td>\n95010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Corralitos<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n2,326<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Davenport<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n408<\/td>\n95017<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Day Valley<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n3,409<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Felton<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n4,057<\/td>\n95018<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Freedom<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n3,070<\/td>\n95019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Interlaken<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n7,321<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
La Selva Beach<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n2,843<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Live Oak<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n17,158<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lompico<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n1,137<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mount Hermon<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n1,037<\/td>\n95041<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pajaro Dunes<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n144<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Paradise Park<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n389<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pasatiempo<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n1,041<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pleasure Point<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n5,846<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rio del Mar<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n9,216<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Santa Cruz<\/td>\nCity · seat<\/td>\n59,946<\/td>\n95060<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Scotts Valley<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n11,580<\/td>\n95066<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Seacliff<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n3,267<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Soquel<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n9,644<\/td>\n95073<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Twin Lakes<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n4,917<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Watsonville<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n51,199<\/td>\n95076<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Zayante<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n705<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Several places on that list blur into their bigger neighbor. Live Oak, Pleasure Point, Twin Lakes and Seacliff are unincorporated communities that read as parts of Santa Cruz or Capitola but are counted separately by the Census Bureau; Rio del Mar is the beachfront CDP wrapped around, not inside, Aptos. Up in the San Lorenzo Valley, Ben Lomond, Brookdale, Boulder Creek, Lompico and Zayante sit within a few miles of each other along State Route 9 and are routinely mixed up by delivery drivers and mapping apps alike.<\/p>\n

ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n

Fourteen ZIP codes deliver mail in Santa Cruz County; a further seven are post-office-box-only codes tied to the same towns.<\/p>\n