States · California · Santa Cruz County

La Selva Beach, 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 La Selva Beach, Santa Cruz County, California

La Selva Beach, in Santa Cruz County, had 2,531 people in the 2020 census. 78% of its homes are lived in by their owners and 22% 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 people in Santa Cruz County work in schools and health care, then professional services.

People 2,531 in the 2020 census
Household income Too few homes in La Selva Beach for the Census survey to measure.
Unemployment 5.3% Santa Cruz County, August 2026; 5.6% a year before
Homes 78% lived in by their owners; 22% rented
  • 908households
  • 62%of adults have a degree
  • 9%below the poverty line
  • 18%work from home

What people in Santa Cruz County work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care26%
  • Professional and business services14%
  • Restaurants, hotels and entertainment10%
  • Shops (retail)10%
  • Manufacturing8%
  • Building trades7%

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, 61° and 39°; warmest in September, 75° and 52° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° J F M A M J J A S 75° 52° O N D 61° 39°
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in December, 61° and 39°; warmest in September, 75° and 52° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° J F M A M J J A S 75° 52° O N D 61° 39°

Coldest in December, with highs near 61° and lows near 39°; warmest in September, with highs near 75° and lows near 52°. About 22 inches of rain and melted snow a year.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Watsonville Municipal Airport weather station, 3 miles away (NOAA).

Largest workplaces in Santa Cruz County

  1. Granite ConstructionCorporate offices4,846
  2. University of California-Santa CruzUniversity or college4,465
  3. Pajaro Valley UnifiedSchool district1,927FTE
  4. Reiter Berry FarmsBerry farming1,600
  5. City of Santa Cruz CITY OF SANTA CRUZCity of santa cruz1,524
  6. Dominican HospitalGeneral hospital1,136FTE
  7. County of Santa CruzAdministration of public health programs789
  8. Cabrillo CollegeTwo-year college780

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 196 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 39,903 people in all across the county; La Selva Beach has none of its own. Colleges come from IPEDS (NCES, 2023–24), school districts from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24) and hospitals from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. 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. DroughtVery high
  2. Inland floodingVery high
  3. EarthquakesVery high
  4. LandslidesRelatively moderate
  5. WildfireRelatively moderate
  6. Heat wavesRelatively moderate

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in La Selva Beach’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.