Funeral services · Metro area · California
Funeral homes in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for funeral homes in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 70 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #72 of 377 scored metro areas
#13 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 12
- 2 chain locations (17%)
- Official establishments
- 6
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $15.5M
- On funerals · $160 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.3M
- 90% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 1.2
- 43% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 258,852
- −4.7% since 2020
See the funeral homes around any address in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area
The site report maps the funeral homes on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
As of September 2026, map listings count 12 funeral homes in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area. Chain locations make up 17% of them, against 10% across the U.S. That is 1.2 per 10,000 households, 43% below the U.S. rate of 2.1.
At $160 per household (12% above the U.S. average), households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area spend about $15.5M a year on funerals. Spread across 12 funeral homes, that is $1.3M per home, 90% above the U.S. figure of $679K.
In 2023, official counts showed 6 businesses with payroll in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area classed as funeral homes and funeral services. That is one for every 16,150 households, against one for every 8,510 across the U.S.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area declined 4.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For funeral homes, the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has a Groundwork market score of 70 (upper middle): #72 of 377 scored metro areas and #13 of 25 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area compares
The same measures for California and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all funerals by the funeral homes counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 1.2 | 1.1 | 2.1 |
| Spending per listing | $1.3M | $1.4M | $679K |
| Households per official establishment | 16,150 | 17,063 | 8,510 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +3.4% | −1.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.7% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on funerals | $160 | $151 | $143 |
| Median household income | $111,093 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 70 | 73 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 6
- Employees, 2023
- 39
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 122 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 23The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as funeral homes and funeral services in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 258,852−4.7% since 2020
- Households
- 96,898
- Median age
- 40.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 60%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 445 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 595
- Median household income
- $111,093+35.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $156,435
- Median home value
- $1,027,500
- Jobs located here
- 95,587
- Daytime population
- 247,989Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the funeral homes on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardFuneral homes across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for funeral homes, numbered among those based in California, with the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area marked.
Top metro areas in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 80 | 173 | 1.2 | $1.3M | +3.5% | #30 of 377 |
| 2Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 78 | 101 | 1.1 | $1.3M | +3.2% | #33 of 377 |
| 3Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | 77 | 21 | 1.1 | $1.5M | −0.4% | #37 of 377 |
| 4San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 76 | 53 | 0.8 | $1.9M | −0.6% | #43 of 377 |
| 5Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | 75 | 15 | 1.0 | $1.7M | −1.4% | #45 of 377 |
| 6Stockton-Lodi, CA | 74 | 38 | 1.5 | $947K | +5.5% | #54 of 377 |
| 7Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 73 | 399 | 0.9 | $1.7M | −2.6% | #55 of 377 |
| 8San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 73 | 168 | 1.0 | $1.6M | −2.4% | #56 of 377 |
| 9San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | 72 | 12 | 1.1 | $1.5M | 0.0% | #61 of 377 |
| 10Salinas, CA | 71 | 16 | 1.2 | $1.4M | −1.5% | #66 of 377 |
| 13Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 70 | 12 | 1.2 | $1.3M | −4.7% | #72 of 377 |
Other business types in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
- Funeral homes70
Questions
How many funeral homes are in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area?
The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has 12 funeral homes on map listings as of September 2026. 2 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count funeral homes, mortuaries and cremation services. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as funeral homes and funeral services in 2023.
How much do households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area spend on funerals?
About $15.5M a year, or $160 per household. That is 12% above the U.S. average (an index of 112, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 funeral homes on map listings, it comes to $1.3M per home. It is estimated from the incomes of the 96,898 households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for funeral homes?
The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has 1.2 funeral homes per 10,000 households, 43% below the U.S. rate of 2.1. Spending per home is $1.3M, 90% above the U.S. figure of $679K. At the national ratio of funeral homes to household spending, the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area would have about 23, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 16,150 households, against one for every 8,510 across the U.S.
How fast is the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area at 258,852 people in 2025, down 4.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 96,898 households. Median household income in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area is $111,093, 38% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 35.1%, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area scores 70 for funeral homes (upper middle), #72 of 377 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area. It maps the funeral homes on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for funeral homes · All 56 business types in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.