2025

Cities in Santa Cruz County, CA ranked by Native American Population

This list ranks the 4 cities in Santa Cruz County based on their American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these cities over the past five years.
Updated Jan 24, 2025

Top 5 cities with the largest Native American population in Santa Cruz County

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  • 1
    Watsonville
    Native American population in Watsonville is 2,281
    3.61% of Watsonville population is Native American
  • 2
    Santa Cruz
    Native American population in Santa Cruz is 2,159
    3.10% of Santa Cruz population is Native American
  • 3
    Capitola
    Native American population in Capitola is 233
    2.12% of Capitola population is Native American
  • 4
    Scotts Valley
    Native American population in Scotts Valley is 145
    1.11% of Scotts Valley population is Native American

List of 4 cities in Santa Cruz County, CA by Native American Population

View Methodology
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Rank by Native American Population
City
Native American Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Santa Cruz County Native American Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Watsonville 2,281 3.61% 47.34%
2 Santa Cruz 2,159 3.10% 44.81%
3 Capitola 233 2.12% 4.84%
4 Scotts Valley 145 1.11% 3.01%

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks cities in Santa Cruz County, CA by their American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines Native American Population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their race, meaning individuals can choose one or more racial categories when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as Native American, whether alone or in combination with another race.
Here are a few important things to know about how race is reported:
  • Some people identify as Native American alone, while others identify as Native American along with another race (such as Native American and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and Native American .
  • We’ve used the “Native American alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Native American population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Native American alone or in combination in cities. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Native American .
  2. % of Total Santa Cruz County Native American Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Native American population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Native American populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • Cities that don’t have any reported Native American population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Native American populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.