Santa Cruz County, California
| County of Santa Cruz | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
| State | California | ||
| Incorporated | 1850 | ||
| County seat | Santa Cruz | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 607 sq mi (1,572.1 km2) | ||
| - Land | 445 sq mi (1,152.5 km2) | ||
| - Water | 162 sq mi (419.6 km2) | ||
| Population (2008 Est.) | 253,137 | ||
| - Density | 569/sq mi (219.7/km2) | ||
| Time zone | Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7) | ||
| Website | www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us | ||
Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, just south of the San Francisco Bay Area. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. (Monterey County forms the southern coast). As of 2008, its population was 253,137.[1] The county seat is Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz County is a member of the regional governmental agency Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments.
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History
Santa Cruz County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood.
In the original act, the county was given the name of "Branciforte" after the Spanish pueblo founded there in 1797; a major watercourse in the county, Branciforte Creek, bears this name. Less than two months later, the name was changed to "Santa Cruz" ("Holy Cross"). Mission Santa Cruz, established in 1791 and completed in 1794, was destroyed by an earthquake in 1857, but a smaller-scale replica was erected in 1931.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 607 square miles (1,573 km²), of which 445 square miles (1,153 km²) are land and 162 square miles (419 km²) (26.67%) are water. Of California's counties, only San Francisco is physically smaller.
The county is a strip about ten miles (16 km) wide between the coast and the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains at the northern end of the Monterey Bay. It can be divided roughly into four regions: the rugged "north coast"; the urban City of Santa Cruz, Soquel, Capitola, and Aptos; mountainous Bonny Doon, San Lorenzo River Valley; and fertile "south county", including Watsonville. Agriculture is concentrated in the coastal lowlands of the county's northern and southern ends. Most of the coastline is flanked by cliffs.
Cities and towns
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Incorporated Cities:
Unincorporated Towns:
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Adjacent counties
Transportation infrastructure
Major highways
State Route 1
State Route 9
State Route 17
State Route 35
State Route 129
State Route 152
State Route 236
County routes
County Route G12
Public transportation
Santa Cruz County is served by the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District bus system. A "Highway 17 Express" bus between Santa Cruz and San Jose is jointly operated by the SCMTD and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Greyhound Lines bus service also serves Santa Cruz County.
Airports
- Watsonville Municipal Airport is a public general aviation airport. There is a notable private airport, Monterey Bay Academy Airport, which is a former military base. The nearest airports for commercial travel include San Jose International Airport, Monterey Peninsula Airport, San Francisco International Airport, and Oakland International Airport.
Demographics
According to the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program (PEP), the population of Santa Cruz County on on July 1, 2006 was 249,705. This is a 2.3% drop from the recorded number of people on April 1, 2000; the PEP builds this estimate from such year-by-year information as births, deaths, domestic and international immigration.
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 255,602 people, 91,139 households, and 57,144 families residing in the county. The population density was 574 people per square mile (222/km²). There were 98,873 housing units at an average density of 222 per square mile (86/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 75.09% White, 0.97% Black or African American, 0.96% Native American, 3.44% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 15.02% from other races, and 4.37% from two or more races. 26.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 10.0% were of German, 8.9% English, 8.2% Irish and 6.3% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 72.5% spoke English and 22.3%Spanish as their first language. About 6,000 residents as Jewish, or about 2.3% of the population; this is the 91st highest percentage of Jews in the United States (see American Jews).
There were 91,139 households out of which 31.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.00% were married couples living together, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.30% were non-families. 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.25.
In the county the population was spread out with 23.80% under the age of 18, 11.90% from 18 to 24, 30.80% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 10.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 99.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $53,998, and the median income for a family was $61,941. Males had a median income of $46,291 versus $33,514 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,396. About 6.70% of families and 11.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.50% of those under age 18 and 6.30% of those age 65 or over.
Santa Cruz county residents tend to be well-educated. 38.3% of residents age 25 and older hold a bachelor's degree at least, significantly higher than the national average of 27.2% and the state average of 29.5%.[3] [4]
Environmental features
Santa Cruz County is home to the following endangered species:
- Santa Cruz Long-toed Salamander
- Santa Cruz Tarweed
- San Francisco garter snake
- California Red-legged Frog
- California Tiger Salamander
- Brown Pelican
- California Clapper Rail
- Marbled Murrelet
- Western Snowy Plover
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Coho Salmon
- Steelhead Trout
- Tidewater Goby
- Southern Sea Otter
- Mount Hermon June Beetle
- Ohlone Tiger Beetle
- Smith's Blue Butterfly
- Zayante Band-winged Grasshopper
Colleges and universities
Four-year universities:
- University of California, Santa Cruz (public) in Santa Cruz, California
- Bethany University (private) in Scotts Valley, California
Two-year colleges:
- Cabrillo College (public) in Aptos, California
Politics
| Year | DEM | GOP | Others |
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| 2008 | 77.8% 78,495 | 19.9% 20,063 | 2.3% 2,331 |
| 2004 | 73.0% 89,102 | 24.9% 30,354 | 2.2% 2,628 |
| 2000 | 61.5% 66,618 | 27.3% 29,627 | 11.2% 12,105 |
| 1996 | 56.5% 58,250 | 26.9% 27,766 | 16.5% 17,046 |
| 1992 | 58.1% 66,183 | 21.9% 24,916 | 20.1% 22,893 |
| 1988 | 61.5% 63,133 | 36.8% 37,728 | 1.7% 1,750 |
| 1984 | 53.3% 49,091 | 45.2% 41,652 | 1.5% 1,404 |
| 1980 | 37.7% 32,346 | 43.5% 37,347 | 18.8% 16,111 |
| 1976 | 51.1% 37,772 | 43.1% 31,872 | 5.9% 4,325 |
| 1972 | 46.4% 32,336 | 49.9% 34,799 | 3.8% 2,624 |
| 1968 | 41.0% 20,492 | 50.8% 25,365 | 8.2% 4,087 |
| 1964 | 58.5% 26,714 | 41.3% 18,836 | 0.2% 94 |
| 1960 | 40.0% 16,659 | 59.6% 24,858 | 0.5% 187 |
Santa Cruz is a strongly Democratic county in presidential and congressional elections. The last Republican to carry the county was Ronald Reagan in 1980, and the last Republican to win a majority in the county was Richard Nixon in 1968. In 2008, residents voted nearly four to one for Democrat Barack Obama over Republican John McCain. All of the cities, towns, and unincorporated areas of Santa Cruz County have more registered Democrats than Republicans. [6]
Santa Cruz is part of California's 14th and 17th congressional districts, which are held by Democrats Anna Eshoo and Sam Farr, respectively. In the State Assembly Santa Cruz is in the 27th and 28th Assembly districts, which are held by Democrats Bill Monning and Anna Caballero, respectively. In the State Senate, Santa Cruz is part of the 11th and 15th districts, which are held by Democrat Joe Simitian and Republican [Sam Blakeslee]] as of the 17 August 2010 special runoff election, respectively.
In 2008, 71.4% of voters in Santa Cruz County voted against Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.
Santa Cruz County winemaking and wineries
Winemaking—both the growing of the grapes and their vinting—is an important part of the economic and cultural life of Santa Cruz County. The wines of the David Bruce Winery and Ridge Vineyards were selected for tasting in the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 (Tabor, p.167-169).
See also
- List of school districts in Santa Cruz County, California
Sources
- Taber, George M. Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine. NY: Scribner, 2005.
References
- ↑ Santa Cruz County, California (City-Data)
- ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ↑ Bookwalter, Genevieve (August 15, 2006), "Santa Cruz residents more educated than most", Santa Cruz Sentinel, http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/story.php?sid=40953, retrieved 2008-02-06
- ↑ Santa Cruz County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau, January 2, 2008, http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/06087.html, retrieved 2008-04-22
- ↑ http://www.santacruzpl.org/endangered/7/
- ↑ "Santa Cruz County Election Results, November 2004 (pdf)" (PDF). http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/sov/2004_general/sov_2004_entire.pdf. Retrieved 2006-05-04.
External links
- Santa Cruz County travel guide from Wikitravel
- Santa Cruz Wiki - The People's Guide to Santa Cruz, California
- Santa Cruz County official website
- Historical resources for Santa Cruz County -- from Santa Cruz Public Library
- Santa Cruz County Conference & Visitors Council - Visitor Information
- List of movies shot in Santa Cruz County
- Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District
- QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
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