States · California · Santa Cruz County

Interlaken, California.

A community in Santa Cruz County, with no city government of its own. Zillow publishes no home prices for it: see Santa Cruz County’s.

Living in Interlaken, Santa Cruz County, California

Interlaken, in Santa Cruz County, had 7,368 people in the 2020 census. Half its households earn more than $109,150 a year and half less, against $111,093 across Santa Cruz County; 15% of its people live below the poverty line. 66% of its homes are lived in by their owners and 34% are rented. Unemployment in Santa Cruz County was 5.3% in August 2026, and the county had 0.1% fewer jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most residents work in schools and health care, then farming.

People 7,368 in the 2020 census; median age 34.3
Household income $109,150 the median, give or take $21,375 · Santa Cruz County: $111,093
Unemployment 5.3% Santa Cruz County, August 2026; 5.6% a year before
Homes 66% lived in by their owners; 34% rented
  • 1,976households
  • 16%of adults have a degree
  • 15%below the poverty line
  • 26 mintypical commute
  • 13%work from home

What residents work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care19%
  • Farming, forestry and mining14%
  • Other services11%
  • Manufacturing11%
  • Professional and business services11%
  • Building trades10%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Santa Cruz County had 104,438 jobs in 2025, 0.1% fewer than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in December, 62° and 39°; warmest in September, 74° and 53° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° J F M A M J J A S 74° 53° O N D 62° 39°
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in December, 62° and 39°; warmest in September, 74° and 53° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° J F M A M J J A S 74° 53° O N D 62° 39°

Coldest in December, with highs near 62° and lows near 39°; warmest in September, with highs near 74° and lows near 53°. About 23 inches of rain a year, and little or no snow.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Watsonville Wtr Wks weather station, 2 miles away (NOAA).

Largest workplaces in Interlaken

  1. Alta Vista FarmsNoncitrus fruit farming549
  2. Golden State HarvestingStrawberry farming197
  3. Plant Sciences Genetics, WatsonvilleAgriculture production or harvesting crews100
  4. Willoughby FarmsShallot farming, field and seed production99
  5. Nutrien Ag SolutionsFarm supplies merchant wholesalers64
  6. GreenhouseGreenhouses, prefabricated metal, manufacturing58
  7. Griggs Wholesale GardensNursery stock growing45
  8. JE FarmsRaspberry farming35

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 8 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 1,147 people in all. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.

Natural hazards

  1. EarthquakesVery high
  2. DroughtRelatively high
  3. Inland floodingRelatively high
  4. Wildfirerelatively high in parts of InterlakenRelatively moderate
  5. Heat wavesRelatively moderate

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Interlaken’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, very high. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.

From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Santa Cruz County.