HomeCaliforniaSanta Cruz CountyWatsonville
Watsonville, California: commercial real estate data.
Watsonville is a Census city of 51,712 people across 6.79 square miles of land, in Santa Cruz County. Median household income is $78,393, 44.8 percent of occupied homes are owned, and the SBA record carries 52 7(a) approvals to borrowers here worth $34.4 m since FY2020.
Underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency.
Watsonville
What Watsonville is
- Census place typecity
- Land area6.79 sq mi
- Water area0.1 sq mi
- Population per square mile of land7,620
- County holding the largest share of its areaSanta Cruz County, 100.0 percent
US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Watsonville
How many people live in Watsonville
- Population51,712
- Median age33.8
- Population under 1815,062
- Share under 1829.1 percent
- Population 65 and over6,713
- Share 65 and over13.0 percent
- Households15,151
- Family households11,622
- Share of households that are families76.7 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Watsonville
Income and work in Watsonville
- Median household income$78,393
- Per capita income$28,021
- Civilian labor force23,745
- Employed21,924
- Unemployed1,821 plus or minus 422
- Unemployment rate7.7 percent plus or minus 1.8
- Adults 25 and over31,114
- Adults 25 and over with a high school diploma or higher65.2 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher12.4 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree3.9 percent plus or minus 0.9
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Watsonville
Housing in Watsonville
- Housing units15,790
- Occupied units15,151
- Vacant units639 plus or minus 272
- Vacancy rate4.0 percent plus or minus 1.7
- Owner occupied6,793
- Renter occupied8,358
- Ownership rate44.8 percent
- Median owner-occupied home value$686,000
- Median gross rent, monthly$1,889
- Annual rent as a share of median income28.9 percent
- Single family units9,497
- Share single family60.1 percent
- Units in buildings of two or more5,178
- Share in buildings of two or more32.8 percent
- Mobile homes1,115 plus or minus 257
- Median year structure built1977
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Watsonville
How Watsonville gets to work
- Workers 16 and over who commute19,643
- Commuting under 15 minutes5,385
- Share commuting under 15 minutes27.4 percent
- Commuting 30 minutes or more7,234
- Share commuting 30 minutes or more36.8 percent
- Drove alone70.8 percent
- Carpooled16.0 percent
- Public transport1.4 percent plus or minus 0.7
- Walked1.3 percent plus or minus 0.6
- Worked from home6.4 percent plus or minus 1.5
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Watsonville
SBA loans in Watsonville (7(a))
- Approvals52
- Gross approval$34,410,200
- Average approval$661,735
- Median approval$350,000
- Ninetieth percentile approval$1,461,300
- Largest approval$5,000,000
- Jobs supported643
- Jobs per approval12.4
- Loans with a final outcome9
- Paid in full8
- Charged off1
- Median term120 months
- Share on real estate terms of 20 years or more19.2 percent
- Share to franchises1.9 percent
- Distinct lenders22
- Distinct industries by NAICS33
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Watsonville, in any county, FY2020 to FY2026. Only 9 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Watsonville
SBA loans in Watsonville (504)
- Approvals27
- Gross approval$27,733,000
- Average approval$1,027,148
- Median approval$632,000
- Largest approval$3,678,000
- Jobs supported359
- Loans with a final outcome11
- Charged off0
- Median term240 months
- Distinct CDCs7
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Watsonville, in any county, FY2010 to FY2026. Only 11 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Watsonville
Flood risk in Watsonville
- NFIP communityCity of Watsonville
- NFIP community number060357
- Participating in the NFIPYes
- Community Rating System classClass 8
- Currently effective map date05/16/12
The City of Watsonville participates in the National Flood Insurance Program as community 060357 and carries Community Rating System class 8, a flood insurance premium discount for policies written there.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.
Santa Cruz County, not Watsonville
Santa Cruz County context, not Watsonville figures
- Establishments in Santa Cruz County7,136
- Covered employment, Santa Cruz County104,514
- Average annual pay, Santa Cruz County$67,622
- Housing units permitted, Santa Cruz County259
Every figure in this section is published for Santa Cruz County as a whole and is not a measurement of Watsonville.
All Santa Cruz County figures →
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages. US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Parcel detail, zoning and the flood zone at an address are not on this page; they resolve at the address in the platform. How this page was built →
Common questions
Watsonville questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in Watsonville, California?
51,712, in 15,151 households. Watsonville city covers 6.79 square miles of land, which is 7,620 people per square mile. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
What county is Watsonville in?
Santa Cruz County, which holds 100.0 percent of the place by area. Source: US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage.
What is the median household income in Watsonville?
$78,393. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $686,000. Median gross rent is $1,889 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
How much SBA lending goes to Watsonville businesses?
52 7(a) approvals totaling $34.4 m since FY2020, across 22 lenders, median approval $350,000, plus 27 504 approvals worth $27.7 m since FY2010. These count approvals to borrowers whose address is in Watsonville, not projects sited inside the place boundary, and they are approvals recorded in the release rather than loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans to Watsonville borrowers get paid back?
No rate is published for Watsonville. Only 9 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published. The counts are shown instead.
Is Watsonville in the National Flood Insurance Program?
Yes. Watsonville appears in the FEMA Community Status Book as Watsonville, city of, community 060357, carrying Community Rating System class 8, which is a premium discount for exceeding the program minimum. Whether a specific parcel sits in a mapped special flood hazard area is an address level question the platform answers.
Are the county figures on this page Watsonville figures?
No, and they are labeled so. County Business Patterns, QCEW, the Building Permits Survey, BEA product and IRS migration are published for Santa Cruz County as a whole and there is no place level equivalent. They appear in one clearly marked section as context and are never presented as measurements of Watsonville.
Is zoning published for Watsonville?
No. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning.