Groundwork

Health care · Metro area · California

Primary care and pediatric clinics in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area

The primary care and pediatric clinics 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 51 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #183 of 387 scored metro areas
#12 of 25 scored metro areas based in California

Listings
63
1 chain location (2%)
Official establishments
190
−3.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$149.8M
On medical and dental services · $1,546 a household
Spending per listing
$2.4M
34% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.5
10% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
258,852
−4.7% since 2020

See the primary care and pediatric clinics around any address in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area

The site report maps the primary care and pediatric clinics 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.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area spend about $149.8M a year on medical and dental services, or $1,546 per household, 20% above the U.S. average. That works out to $2.4M per clinic, 34% above the U.S. figure of $1.8M. The spending figure covers all medical and dental services, not only primary care and pediatric clinics.

There are 63 primary care and pediatric clinics on map listings in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area as of September 2026. One of them (2%) is a chain location, against 9% across the U.S. That is 6.5 per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 7.2.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as offices of physicians in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area was 190 in 2023, down 3.5% from 2019. That is one for every 510 households, against one for every 593 across the U.S. Another 209 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Population estimates show the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area declined 4.7% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area scores 51 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for primary care and pediatric clinics, ranking #183 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 medical and dental services by the primary care and pediatric clinics counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Primary care and pediatrics in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureSanta Cruz-Watsonville metro areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.57.37.2
Spending per listing$2.4M$2M$1.8M
Households per official establishment510426593
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−3.5%−0.8%−2.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−4.7%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on medical and dental services$1,546$1,464$1,288
Median household income$111,093$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score5142

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
190−3.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,174
Annual payroll, 2023
$282.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
209Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
631 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
84The 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 offices of physicians 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 primary care and pediatric clinics 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.

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Primary care and pediatrics across California

Every California market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in California for primary care and pediatric clinics, numbered among those based in California, with the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area marked.

Top metro areas in California

Metro areas in California ranked for primary care and pediatric clinics by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Vallejo, CA78674.3$3.4M+0.6%#26 of 387
2Stockton-Lodi, CA781064.3$3.2M+5.5%#27 of 387
3Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA734375.0$2.9M+3.2%#46 of 387
4Merced, CA66364.2$2.8M+5.1%#79 of 387
5Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA651105.8$2.6M−0.4%#85 of 387
6Yuba City, CA61376.0$2.1M+3.3%#116 of 387
7San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA571,1466.6$2.6M−2.4%#137 of 387
8San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA555367.9$2.3M−0.6%#152 of 387
9Napa, CA54316.2$2.5M−3.3%#158 of 387
10Modesto, CA531066.0$2.2M+0.7%#169 of 387
12Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA51636.5$2.4M−4.7%#183 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.

Questions

How many primary care and pediatric clinics are in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 63 primary care and pediatric clinics in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area. One of them (2%) is a chain location. The listings count primary care, family medicine and pediatric clinics. Official counts show 190 businesses with payroll classed as offices of physicians in 2023, down 3.5% from 2019. Official counts list 209 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area spend on medical and dental services?

About $149.8M a year, or $1,546 per household. That is 20% above the U.S. average (an index of 120, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 63 primary care and pediatric clinics on map listings, it comes to $2.4M per clinic. That spending covers all medical and dental services, which primary care and pediatric clinics share with other businesses in the trade. 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 primary care and pediatric clinics?

The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has 6.5 primary care and pediatric clinics per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 7.2. Spending per clinic is $2.4M, 34% above the U.S. figure of $1.8M. At the U.S. ratio of primary care and pediatric clinics to household spending, the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area would have about 84, against 63 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 510 households, against one for every 593 across the U.S. The official count fell 3.5% from 2019 to 2023, against −2.2% 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 51 for primary care and pediatric clinics (upper middle), #183 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 primary care and pediatric clinics 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 primary care and pediatric clinics · 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.