Health Profile of Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County Health Score
The Map AI Health Index is a score that reflects local life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and physical environment to help you quickly compare the overall health and well-being of different areas.
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A
Santa Cruz County Above averageHealthier than 86% of counties in California
Source: Map AI Methodology
General Health Overview
| Metric | Santa Cruz County | California Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy (years) | 81.4 | 79.6 | 78.3 |
| Uninsured Population (%) | 4.9% | 6.6% | 8.4% |
| Self-Rated Poor Health | 13.7% | 16.4% | 16.3% |
Life expectancy in Santa Cruz County is 81.4 years, about 1.8 years longer than the California average of 79.6 years. The uninsured rate is 4.9%, lower than the California average of 6.6%. Self-rated poor health is reported by 13.7% of residents, lower than the California average of 16.4%.
Population by Age
Older residents
93,682 residents in Santa Cruz County are age 50 or older.
- 85+ 5,242 1,711 men · 3,531 women
- 75–84 11,562 5,095 men · 6,467 women
- 65–74 25,129 12,355 men · 12,774 women
- 50–64 51,749 25,583 men · 26,166 women
Younger residents
48,085 residents in Santa Cruz County are age 17 or younger.
- 12–17 15,586 7,923 boys · 7,663 girls
- 7–12 13,984 7,156 boys · 6,828 girls
- 3–7 10,601 5,444 boys · 5,157 girls
- 0–3 7,914 4,023 boys · 3,891 girls
About 8,785 residents in Santa Cruz County (3.3% of the population) are older than the area's life expectancy of 81.4 years.
The highlighted slice of the age axis is the share of residents older than the life-expectancy mark.
Disease Prevalence
| Disease / Condition | Santa Cruz County | California Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes | 8.8% | 10.5% | 11.3% |
| Cancer | 5.8% | 6.3% | 6.9% |
| Heart Diseases | 5.3% | 6.4% | 7.1% |
| Adult Obesity | 27.2% | 30.6% | 34.3% |
The rate of heart disease in Santa Cruz County is about 17% lower than in California. The rate of diabetes in Santa Cruz County is about 16% lower than in California.
Health Behaviors
| Behavior | Santa Cruz County | California Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 11.5% | 13.9% | 19.0% |
| Binge Drinking | 19.4% | 18.0% | 16.5% |
| Sedentary Lifestyle | 19.1% | 21.9% | 25.1% |
The rate of smoking in Santa Cruz County is about 17% lower than in California.
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 249,326 cigarettes a day, 7.5 million a month, or 91.0 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 2.7 million minutes a day and 1.0 billion a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Santa Cruz County is 81.4 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.06 lifetimes a day, or 23 lifetimes a year.
* Source: Shaw M, Mitchell R, Dorling D. "Time for a smoke? One cigarette reduces your life by 11 minutes." BMJ. 2000;320:53.
Illustrative only. This is not an estimate of how many people actually die from smoking each day or year - it's a rough, order-of-magnitude comparison meant to help grasp the scale of smoking in this area. We take no responsibility for any decisions made based on this figure.
Air Quality
| Metric | Santa Cruz County | California Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Pollution (μg/m³) | 6.11 | 7.63 | 6.09 |
With an annual average of 6.1 µg/m³ of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), air quality in Santa Cruz County is good — generally safe air quality for the vast majority of residents.
Santa Cruz County, CA Health Compared With Nearby Counties
Santa Cruz County, CA is the smallest of the 6 counties compared here, 264,809 residents against a local median of 1,163,035. The measure that sets Santa Cruz County, CA apart most is uninsured: 4.9%, 26% above the local median of 3.9%. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
Obesity tells the same story from another angle: 27.2% against a local median of 21.9%, 24% above it. Every measure here with a clear better direction points the same way, and it is the wrong way: Santa Cruz County, CA reads weaker than its neighbours on all of them. The counties themselves spread 1.3% on uninsured, so Santa Cruz County, CA sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Santa Cruz County, CA has the 6th lowest uninsured of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Life expectancy | Uninsured | Obesity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 264,809 | 81.4 yrs #4/6 | 4.9% #6/6 | 27.2% #5/6 |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 1,901,257 | 82.7 yrs | 3.9% | 21.6% |
| San Mateo County, CA | 733,246 | 82.7 yrs | 3.8% | 21.9% |
| Alameda County, CA | 1,648,382 | 80.8 yrs | 4.0% | 25.3% |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 1,163,035 | 80.8 yrs | 4.6% | 28.7% |
| San Francisco County, CA | 829,818 | 81.9 yrs | 3.3% | 19.4% |
Conclusion
Considering all these factors, Santa Cruz County, California has an overall health index grade of A, making it somewhat better than California, and notably better than the country as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about health in Santa Cruz County, California.
What is the health grade for Santa Cruz County, California?
Santa Cruz County, California has a Map AI Health Index grade of A, based on life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment; an A grade means residents are much healthier than the U.S. average.
Is Santa Cruz County, California one of the healthiest counties in California?
Santa Cruz County ranks 9th healthiest out of 58 counties in California by the Map AI Health Index, which measures life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment.
What is the life expectancy in Santa Cruz County, California?
People in Santa Cruz County, California can expect to live 81.4 years on average, 1.8 years longer than the California average of 79.6.
What percentage of Santa Cruz County, California residents are uninsured?
4.9% of residents in Santa Cruz County, California have no health insurance, about 1 in 20 people, 1.7 points below the California rate of 6.6%.
What is the obesity rate in Santa Cruz County, California?
27.2% of adults in Santa Cruz County, California are classified as obese, about 1 in 4, 3.4 points below the California rate of 30.6%.
How many cigarettes do smokers in Santa Cruz County, California go through, and how much life does that cost?
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 249,326 cigarettes a day, 7.5 million a month, or 91.0 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 2.7 million minutes a day and 1.0 billion a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Santa Cruz County is 81.4 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.06 lifetimes a day, or 23 lifetimes a year.
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