City safety & data profile
WatsonvilleCA
Watsonville, CA is a 54K-resident city in Santa Cruz County with a median household income of $78,393.
Santa Cruz County, California. Federal health, economic, and safety indicators for Watsonville, drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, CDC PLACES, and CMS Hospital Compare. Watsonville has a population larger than 81% of the 4,640 U.S. cities Areazine tracks, a median home value of $686,000, and 1 hospital serving the surrounding area.
Data updated 2026-07-20
- 54K
- Population
- Top 19%
- By size
- $78,393
- Median income
- $686,000
- Median home
- 14.7%
- Poverty rate
The read on Watsonville
Watsonville posts a median household income higher than 47% of U.S. cities Areazine tracks, where 1 hospital serves the Watsonville area.
- Top 53%
- by median income, US cities
- 1
- hospital in & near Watsonville
Where Watsonville income ranks nationally
Median household income vs. every place Areazine profiles (place-level ACS)
$78,393 Bottom 47% higher than 47% of 3,889 places Areazine profiles
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more places Areazine profiles. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) · 2024 ACS 5-year
The quick read
Reading Watsonville, CA beyond the headline numbers
Watsonville sits inside Santa Cruz County, California, at roughly 36.91°N, -121.76°W. Population 53,628, $78,393 median household income. Median home value $686,000, median rent $1,889. Poverty rate 14.7%, read against that income figure since two cities on the same median can differ underneath it.
CDC PLACES: Watsonville's highest-prevalence health measure is short sleep duration at 36.9%, then physical inactivity at 33.2%. 1 hospital in/around Watsonville, 2/5 avg rating, 1 with an ER.
Sources: U.S. Census ACS, CDC PLACES, CMS Hospital Compare, plus live alerts for Watsonville from FEMA, NOAA, FDA, and CPSC. Comparison bars benchmark each metric against the national reference.
10-Year Trends 2013–2024
County-level trend (Santa Cruz County) - Watsonville's own historical series isn't separately published by the Census Bureau, so these year-over-year figures track the surrounding county, not the city alone.
Economics
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Median Rent | |
| Poverty Rate | 14.7% +4% vs avg |
| Unemployment | 7.7% |
| Bachelor's Degree+ | 12.4% |
| Work From Home | 6.4% |
| Public Transit | 1.4% |
Population
Health Profile 15 measures
Health Indicators
Preventive Care
Other Measures
Hospitals 1 total
Frequently Asked Questions 6
What is the population of Watsonville, CA? ▼
What is the median household income in Watsonville? ▼
What is the median home value in Watsonville? ▼
What are the top health concerns in Watsonville? ▼
How many hospitals are in Watsonville? ▼
What is the median age in Watsonville? ▼
Safety Context
Watsonville, CA is located in Santa Cruz County, California. With a population of 54K and a $78,393 median household income, the community faces health challenges including short sleep duration and physical inactivity. Residents have access to 1 hospital with an average rating of 2/5 stars. Safety alerts for the Watsonville area are monitored from federal and state agencies including FEMA, NOAA, FDA, and CPSC.
Safety Guides
Primary source data
EPA Outdoor Air Quality Data
Federal monitoring network, every measurement we report
AirNow - California
Real-time AQI for every monitored California location
National Weather Service
NOAA active watches, warnings, advisories
CDC Air Quality & Health
Health-impact reference for every AQI category
EPA NAAQS standards
National Ambient Air Quality Standards, the regulatory thresholds
Nearby Cities 8
Using Watsonville's profile
Use this as a starting research checklist, not a verdict on whether to live here.
- Check live recalls, weather and hazard alerts scoped to the Watsonville area before relying on national headlines. Check your area
- Read the poverty rate alongside the income figure, two places with the same median can have very different realities.
- Compare Watsonville against California peers on any ranking lens. Explore California
Population and economics (income, home value, poverty, education) are place-level U.S. Census ACS; health is CDC PLACES; hospital counts reflect facilities in and around the city.
Data Sources
All data on this page comes from official U.S. government sources. Population and economic data from the Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates, place geography). Health data from the CDC PLACES program (2023). Hospital ratings from CMS Hospital Compare (2024). Climate data from NOAA. Education data from NCES. Cost of living from Bureau of Economic Analysis. Crime statistics, where referenced on Areazine, originate from the FBI Crime Data Explorer. Housing market figures referenced on Areazine come from HUD Fair Market Rents. Census economics and population are at place geography; some health and hospital indicators are reported at the county level (Santa Cruz County) where that is the smallest published unit.
Every figure on Areazine is published directly from official U.S. government sources, no number is typed in by an editor. City demographic and health figures are compiled directly from U.S. Census, CDC, and CMS releases, updated quarterly within 30 days of upstream release. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.