Real estate · Metro area · California
Real estate businesses in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area
The real estate businesses 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 36 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #321 of 387 scored metro areas
#21 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 497
- 34 chain locations (7%)
- Official establishments
- 267
- +9.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $2B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $20,961 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 94
- 6% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 51.3
- 33% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 258,852
- −4.7% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area
The site report maps the real estate businesses 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
The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area scores 36 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for real estate businesses, ranking #321 of 387 scored metro areas and #21 of 25 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
At $20,961 per household (26% above the U.S. average), households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area spend about $2B a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 6% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in.
The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has 497 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 34 are chain locations, or 7%, against 6% across the U.S. That comes to 51.3 for every 10,000 households, 33% above the U.S. rate of 38.5.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area was 267 in 2023, up 9.9% from 2019. That is one for every 363 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 8 SBA-backed loans worth $4.8M have gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors 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.
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 | 51.3 | 49.0 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 94 | 94 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 363 | 293 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +9.9% | +13.8% | +15.8% |
| 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 | 36 | 32 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 267+9.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 983
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $66.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 1,534Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 49734 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 469The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 8
- Amount
- $4.8M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors 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 real estate businesses 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 cardReal estate across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for real estate businesses, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Merced, CA | 79 | 210 | 24.4 | 157 | +5.1% | #11 of 387 |
| 2Hanford-Corcoran, CA | 72 | 85 | 19.3 | 203 | +1.0% | #30 of 387 |
| 3Yuba City, CA | 71 | 178 | 28.7 | 143 | +3.3% | #35 of 387 |
| 4Visalia, CA | 68 | 347 | 24.2 | 163 | +2.4% | #45 of 387 |
| 5Stockton-Lodi, CA | 67 | 868 | 35.4 | 124 | +5.5% | #55 of 387 |
| 6Bakersfield-Delano, CA | 66 | 772 | 27.1 | 146 | +2.3% | #57 of 387 |
| 7Fresno, CA | 58 | 1,249 | 33.7 | 120 | +3.2% | #110 of 387 |
| 8Vallejo, CA | 57 | 599 | 38.0 | 120 | +0.6% | #120 of 387 |
| 9Salinas, CA | 50 | 486 | 36.7 | 123 | −1.5% | #179 of 387 |
| 10El Centro, CA | 47 | 163 | 32.8 | 112 | +1.1% | #209 of 387 |
| 21Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 36 | 497 | 51.3 | 94 | −4.7% | #321 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 real estate businesses are in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 497 real estate businesses in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area. 34 of them (7%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 267 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 9.9% from 2019. Another 1,534 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
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 497 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 6% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses 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 real estate businesses?
The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has 51.3 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 33% above the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 94, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area would have about 469, against 497 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 363 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% 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 36 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #321 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 real estate businesses 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 real estate businesses · 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.