Real estate · Metro area · California
Mortgage brokers and lenders in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area
The mortgage brokers and lenders 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 33 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #337 of 373 scored metro areas
#16 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 64
- 12 chain locations (19%)
- Official establishments
- 24
- +9.1% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $2B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $20,961 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 81
- 19% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.6
- 53% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 258,852
- −4.7% since 2020
See the mortgage brokers and lenders around any address in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area
The site report maps the mortgage brokers and lenders 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
For mortgage brokers and lenders, the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has a Groundwork market score of 33 (lower middle): #337 of 373 scored metro areas and #16 of 25 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area spend about $2B a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $20,961 per household, 26% above the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 19% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money mortgage brokers and lenders take in.
There are 64 mortgage brokers and lenders on map listings in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 19% of them, against 21% across the U.S. That comes to 6.6 for every 10,000 households, 53% above the U.S. rate of 4.3.
In 2023, official counts showed 24 businesses with payroll in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area classed as mortgage brokers and real estate lenders, up 9.1% from 2019. That is one for every 4,037 households, against one for every 4,897 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area declined 4.7% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area compares
The same measures for California and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.6 | 6.4 | 4.3 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 81 | 80 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 4,037 | 2,973 | 4,897 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +9.1% | −0.8% | +9.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.7% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $20,961 | $19,977 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $111,093 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 33 | 28 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 24+9.1% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 84
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $7.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 6412 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 52The 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 mortgage brokers and real estate lenders 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 mortgage brokers and lenders 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 cardMortgage brokers and lenders across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for mortgage brokers and lenders, 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 | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hanford-Corcoran, CA | 70 | 8 | 1.8 | 240 | +1.0% | #32 of 373 |
| 2Merced, CA | 70 | 26 | 3.0 | 141 | +5.1% | #34 of 373 |
| 3Visalia, CA | 57 | 43 | 3.0 | 146 | +2.4% | #120 of 373 |
| 4Yuba City, CA | 57 | 22 | 3.6 | 128 | +3.3% | #122 of 373 |
| 5Stockton-Lodi, CA | 57 | 110 | 4.5 | 109 | +5.5% | #127 of 373 |
| 6San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 51 | 341 | 5.0 | 123 | −0.6% | #173 of 373 |
| 7Bakersfield-Delano, CA | 51 | 108 | 3.8 | 116 | +2.3% | #174 of 373 |
| 8Salinas, CA | 49 | 60 | 4.5 | 111 | −1.5% | #191 of 373 |
| 9Fresno, CA | 45 | 173 | 4.7 | 96 | +3.2% | #223 of 373 |
| 10San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 44 | 893 | 5.1 | 113 | −2.4% | #229 of 373 |
| 16Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 33 | 64 | 6.6 | 81 | −4.7% | #337 of 373 |
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
- Real estate36
- Real estate agents and brokers37
- Property management35
- Mortgage brokers and lenders33
- Home inspectors
Funeral services
Questions
How many mortgage brokers and lenders are in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 64 mortgage brokers and lenders in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area. 12 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders. Official counts show 24 businesses with payroll classed as mortgage brokers and real estate lenders in 2023, up 9.1% from 2019.
How much do households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $2B a year, or $20,961 per household. That is 26% above the U.S. average (an index of 126, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 64 mortgage brokers and lenders on map listings, housing spending per office is 19% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money mortgage brokers and lenders take in. 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 mortgage brokers and lenders?
The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has 6.6 mortgage brokers and lenders per 10,000 households, 53% above the U.S. rate of 4.3. The index of housing spending per office is 81, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of mortgage brokers and lenders to household spending, the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area would have about 52, against 64 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,037 households, against one for every 4,897 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +9.5% 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 33 for mortgage brokers and lenders (lower middle), #337 of 373 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 mortgage brokers and lenders 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 mortgage brokers and lenders · 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.