Santa Cruz-Watsonville migration, mapped
In 2022–23, 7,905 people moved into the Santa Cruz metro and 9,827 moved out, a net of −1,922. Yellow arcs are people arriving, blue arcs are people leaving. Hover a dot to see the corridor, or click through to compare.
The map couldn’t load. The numbers below still tell the story.
† IRS methodology change in this year’s files (see methodology)
What the flows say
- Biggest published corridors: San Jose, CA leads both directions, with 1,765 people in and 1,531 out in 2022–23. The listed corridors cover about 74–77% of all flows; the totals count everyone.
- Trend: net outflow has held roughly steady over the last three years, from −2,137 in 2020–21 to −1,922 in 2022–23†.
Population · 2025
258,852
▼ 1.0% year over year · shrinking
Peak population · 2017
274,865
5.8% below the 2017 peak
Why the population is changing
- Growth driver: domestic outflow led the population decline in 2025: −2,701, against births minus deaths (+78) and international migration (+71).
- Peak population: the high-water mark was 274,865 in 2017. The 2025 estimate of 258,852 is 5.8% below that.
Net income flow · 2022–23
+$2M
▲ $612M arrived · $610M left
Avg household income · movers
$114k in · $93k out
arrivals out-earn leavers by 23%
Santa Cruz wealth migration
- Money moved: households moving into the Santa Cruz metro in 2022–23 reported $612M in income (AGI). Households leaving took $610M with them, a net gain of $2M.
- Income gap: the average household moving in reported $114k of income, vs $93k for leavers. Arrivals out-earn leavers by 23%.
About the data
Corridors are IRS county-to-county migration flows added up into metro areas (2023 Census metro definitions; exemptions ≈ people). "Rest of" entries cover a state's counties outside any featured metro. The IRS hides corridors with fewer than 20 returns, so the lists here cover about 77% of inbound and 74% of outbound movers in 2022–23. The in, out, and net totals count everyone. Income figures are the total income (AGI) movers reported, from the complete county totals. Dollars are not adjusted for inflation, and household averages divide by the number of returns. Population figures are Census Bureau estimates; the peak covers records since 2000. Years marked † had a change in how the IRS built the files. Full details on the methodology page.
Download this data (CSV), free to use with attribution.
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