Auto · Metro area · California
Insurance agencies in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area
How the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for insurance agencies: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 49 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #190 of 387 scored metro areas
#12 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 143
- 31 chain locations (22%)
- Official establishments
- 76
- −10.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $199.9M
- On vehicle insurance · $2,063 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.4M
- 11% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 14.8
- 5% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 258,852
- −4.7% since 2020
See the insurance agencies around any address in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area
The site report maps the insurance agencies 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 $2,063 per household (5% above the U.S. average), households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area spend about $199.9M a year on vehicle insurance. That is about $1.4M of household spending for each agency on map listings, 11% above the U.S. figure of $1.3M.
The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has 143 insurance agencies on map listings as of September 2026. 31 of them (22%) are chain locations, against 21% across the U.S. That comes to 14.8 for every 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 15.6.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as insurance agencies and brokerages in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area was 76 in 2023, down 10.6% from 2019. That is one for every 1,275 households, against one for every 966 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1.1M has gone to businesses classed as insurance agencies and brokerages in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area.
Population estimates show the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area declined 4.7% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for insurance agencies in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area is 49 (lower middle), #190 of 387 scored metro areas and #12 of 25 scored metro areas based in California.
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 vehicle insurance by the insurance agencies 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 | 14.8 | 17.2 | 15.6 |
| Spending per listing | $1.4M | $1.1M | $1.3M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,275 | 973 | 966 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −10.6% | −4.0% | −1.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.7% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle insurance | $2,063 | $1,926 | $1,957 |
| Median household income | $111,093 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 49 | 34 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 76−10.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 369
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $31.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 14331 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 159The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $1.1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as insurance agencies and brokerages 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 insurance agencies 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 cardInsurance agencies across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for insurance agencies, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Merced, CA | 78 | 87 | 10.1 | $2M | +5.1% | #45 of 387 |
| 2Stockton-Lodi, CA | 72 | 326 | 13.3 | $1.6M | +5.5% | #70 of 387 |
| 3Yuba City, CA | 71 | 76 | 12.3 | $1.7M | +3.3% | #73 of 387 |
| 4Vallejo, CA | 69 | 193 | 12.3 | $1.7M | +0.6% | #85 of 387 |
| 5Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 65 | 2,142 | 14.8 | $1.5M | +3.5% | #106 of 387 |
| 6Hanford-Corcoran, CA | 64 | 55 | 12.5 | $1.6M | +1.0% | #108 of 387 |
| 7Bakersfield-Delano, CA | 62 | 369 | 13.0 | $1.5M | +2.3% | #123 of 387 |
| 8Visalia, CA | 57 | 213 | 14.9 | $1.4M | +2.4% | #145 of 387 |
| 9Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | 53 | 259 | 13.6 | $1.5M | −0.4% | #168 of 387 |
| 10San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | 50 | 150 | 13.7 | $1.5M | 0.0% | #181 of 387 |
| 12Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 49 | 143 | 14.8 | $1.4M | −4.7% | #190 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 insurance agencies are in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 143 insurance agencies in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area. 31 of them (22%) are chain locations. The listings count insurance agencies. Official counts show 76 businesses with payroll classed as insurance agencies and brokerages in 2023, down 10.6% from 2019.
How much do households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area spend on vehicle insurance?
About $199.9M a year, or $2,063 per household. That is 5% above the U.S. average (an index of 105, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 143 insurance agencies on map listings, it comes to $1.4M per agency. 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 insurance agencies?
The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has 14.8 insurance agencies per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 15.6. Spending per agency is $1.4M, 11% above the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the U.S. ratio of insurance agencies to household spending, the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area would have about 159, against 143 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,275 households, against one for every 966 across the U.S. The official count fell 10.6% from 2019 to 2023, against −1.0% 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 49 for insurance agencies (lower middle), #190 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 insurance agencies 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 insurance agencies · 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.