Rank

2975of 3,144

Santa Cruz, California

Score 4.61 / 10· population 261,547

About 261,500 people live in Santa Cruz, California. It ranks #2,975 of 3,144 counties for liberty, and #31 of 58 in California. The combined sales tax is 8.5%, higher than in 91% of counties. Property tax takes about 0.6% of a home's value each year, less than in 65% of counties. Local government employs a larger share of working residents than in 64% of counties. The homicide rate is higher than in 58% of counties. Life expectancy is at least 80 years, longer than in 91% of counties. Air quality is better than in 74% of counties (a typical day's air quality index is 37), and flood and hurricane risk is higher than in 93% of counties. On this site's state scores, California gets 4.79 of 10 for economic freedom, based on the Fraser Institute's ranking, and 1 of 10 for gun rights.

v4 — beta, 30 October 2026, sourced values