Auto · Metro area · California
Gas stations in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area
The gas stations in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 72 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #50 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 73
- 57 chain locations (78%)
- Official establishments
- 51
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $286.1M
- On gasoline and other fuels · $2,952 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.9M
- 64% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.5
- 31% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 258,852
- −4.7% since 2020
See the gas stations around any address in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area
The site report maps the gas stations 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
At $2,952 per household (14% above the U.S. average), households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area spend about $286.1M a year on gasoline and other fuels. Spread across 73 gas stations, that is $3.9M per station, 64% above the U.S. figure of $2.4M.
The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has 73 gas stations on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 78% of them, against 84% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 7.5, 31% below the U.S. rate of 10.9.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as gasoline stations in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area was 51 in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 1,900 households, against one for every 1,184 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $14.4M have gone to businesses classed as gasoline stations in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −4.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For gas stations, the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has a Groundwork market score of 72 (upper middle): #50 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 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 gasoline and other fuels by the gas stations 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 | 7.5 | 8.1 | 10.9 |
| Spending per listing | $3.9M | $3.4M | $2.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,900 | 1,669 | 1,184 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +7.2% | −3.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.7% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on gasoline and other fuels | $2,952 | $2,747 | $2,595 |
| Median household income | $111,093 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 72 | 66 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 510.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 353
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $12.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 7357 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 120The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $14.4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as gasoline stations 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 gas stations 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 cardGas stations across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for gas stations, 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 | 82 | 1,263 | 8.7 | $3.6M | +3.5% | #12 of 387 |
| 2Stockton-Lodi, CA | 75 | 258 | 10.5 | $2.9M | +5.5% | #34 of 387 |
| 3Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | 74 | 211 | 7.5 | $4M | −1.5% | #39 of 387 |
| 4Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | 73 | 141 | 7.4 | $3.9M | −0.4% | #46 of 387 |
| 5Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 73 | 738 | 8.4 | $3.3M | +3.2% | #47 of 387 |
| 6Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 72 | 73 | 7.5 | $3.9M | −4.7% | #50 of 387 |
| 7San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 71 | 705 | 6.0 | $4.6M | −0.6% | #54 of 387 |
| 8San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 71 | 465 | 6.8 | $4.1M | −0.6% | #56 of 387 |
| 9San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | 70 | 91 | 8.3 | $3.6M | 0.0% | #65 of 387 |
| 10Vallejo, CA | 70 | 159 | 10.1 | $3M | +0.6% | #67 of 387 |
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
Questions
How many gas stations are in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 73 gas stations in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area. 57 of them (78%) are chain locations. The listings count gas stations. Official counts show 51 businesses with payroll classed as gasoline stations in 2023, unchanged from 2019.
How much do households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area spend on gasoline and other fuels?
About $286.1M a year, or $2,952 per household. That is 14% above the U.S. average (an index of 114, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 73 gas stations on map listings, it comes to $3.9M per station. 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 gas stations?
The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has 7.5 gas stations per 10,000 households, 31% below the U.S. rate of 10.9. Spending per station is $3.9M, 64% above the U.S. figure of $2.4M. At the U.S. ratio of gas stations to household spending, the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area would have about 120, against 73 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,900 households, against one for every 1,184 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against −3.1% for 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 72 for gas stations (upper middle), #50 of 387 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 gas stations 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 gas stations · 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.