Food and drink · Metro area · California
Sit-down restaurants 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 sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 41 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #269 of 387 scored metro areas
#17 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 657
- 129 chain locations (20%)
- Official establishments
- 235
- −8.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $469.6M
- On food away from home · $4,847 a household
- Spending per listing
- $715K
- 8% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 67.8
- 11% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 258,852
- −4.7% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area
The site report maps the sit-down restaurants 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
Households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area spend about $469.6M a year on food away from home, or $4,847 per household, 19% above the U.S. average. Spread across 657 sit-down restaurants, that is $715K per restaurant, 8% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
There are 657 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area as of September 2026. 129 of them (20%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 67.8 for every 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area was 235 in 2023, down 8.9% from 2019. That is one for every 412 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts list 29 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 9 SBA-backed loans worth $4M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants 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. For sit-down restaurants, the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has a Groundwork market score of 41 (lower middle): #269 of 387 scored metro areas and #17 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 food away from home by the sit-down restaurants 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 | 67.8 | 73.9 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $715K | $617K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 412 | 432 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −8.9% | −1.9% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.7% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,847 | $4,559 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $111,093 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 41 | 34 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 235−8.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 4,675
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $143M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 29Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 657129 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 708The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 9
- Amount
- $4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants 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 sit-down restaurants 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 cardSit-down restaurants across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for sit-down restaurants, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Yuba City, CA | 81 | 258 | 41.7 | $935K | +3.3% | #14 of 387 |
| 2Stockton-Lodi, CA | 77 | 1,321 | 53.9 | $797K | +5.5% | #22 of 387 |
| 3Merced, CA | 66 | 406 | 47.2 | $750K | +5.1% | #75 of 387 |
| 4Vallejo, CA | 64 | 871 | 55.3 | $816K | +0.6% | #87 of 387 |
| 5Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 58 | 8,730 | 60.2 | $700K | +3.5% | #128 of 387 |
| 6Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 54 | 5,508 | 62.5 | $712K | +3.2% | #158 of 387 |
| 7Hanford-Corcoran, CA | 54 | 237 | 53.8 | $679K | +1.0% | #161 of 387 |
| 8Fresno, CA | 49 | 2,286 | 61.8 | $621K | +3.2% | #203 of 387 |
| 9Chico, CA | 48 | 447 | 53.7 | $693K | −0.5% | #210 of 387 |
| 10Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | 47 | 1,824 | 65.1 | $735K | −1.5% | #212 of 387 |
| 17Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 41 | 657 | 67.8 | $715K | −4.7% | #269 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
- Restaurants and cafes35
- Sit-down restaurants41
- Fast food and sandwich shops60
- Pizza59
- Coffee shops and cafes24
- Bakeries and dessert shops28
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 sit-down restaurants are in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 657 sit-down restaurants in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area. 129 of them (20%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 235 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 8.9% from 2019. Official counts also show 29 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $469.6M a year, or $4,847 per household. That is 19% above the U.S. average (an index of 119, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 657 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $715K per restaurant. That spending covers all food away from home, which sit-down restaurants 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 sit-down restaurants?
The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has 67.8 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $715K, 8% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area would have about 708, against 657 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 412 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 8.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% 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 41 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #269 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 sit-down restaurants 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 sit-down restaurants · 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.