Community Results

Adults who have had a routine checkup:

Routine checkups help maintain good health. Adults with inflexible work hours go to the doctor less. During COVID, routine checkups in South County decreased fastest.

Community Voice:

"Access to services impacts our migrant farming and first line worker communities hardest. A doctor's appointment between 9 and 5 means somebody working in the fields does not get paid."

Getting to Results:

Community Health Assessment

Families Living Below 200% Poverty Level:

A high poverty rate indicates that local employment opportunities are not sufficient to provide for the local community. Underinvestment in South County has resulted in disparate economic outcomes.

Community Voice:

"I want my children to learn to read and write and have a good job so that they will not work in the fields like us because it is very difficult to work from sunrise to sunset."

Getting to Results:

2023 Santa Cruz County State of the Workforce Report

Pavement Condition Index (PCI):

PCI evaluates the condition of pavement surfaces, ranging from 0 (very poor) to 100 (excellent). It is based on visual inspections that assess the severity and extent of pavement distresses like cracks and potholes. PCI helps prioritize maintenance and repairs.

Community Voice:

“We need more protected bike lanes. Getting to school shouldn’t be a near-death experience.”

Getting to Results:

County Roads Storm Damage

Transportation Improvements

Strong Start Score:

Children that are born into households that offer safe, nurturing relationships and environments are more likely to be healthy, able to learn, emotionally well developed, and ultimately reach their full potential. The Strong Start Score tracks community assets that children are born into.

Community Voice:

“I love that my child can come home with new books every week, and we get excited to read them together. I like that they’re in Spanish and English.”

Getting to Results:

First Five Annual Report

Greenhouse Gas Emissions:

Increasing emissions make us vulnerable to more frequent and powerful natural disasters and exacerbate diseases like asthma. Transportation is the largest emissions contributor locally, with higher relative time and cost born by South County residents.

Community Voice:

“The climate knows no boundaries. We’re no longer at a place where you make a plan to make a plan to make a plan. We really need to just start doing the things we need to be doing.”

Getting to Results:

Climate Action and Adaptation Plan

Successful Return to Community:

The vast majority of people who commit a crime go on to make positive contributions to their community. Successful returns shows the percentage of people who have completed their probation term without reoffending.

Community Voice:

“I had to think in ways I had not entirely explored previously. I got an opportunity to think about my impact on different members, and it gave me a more open heart.”

Getting to Results:

Neighborhood Justice Program

County and City Crime Data

Housing Units Added:

In order to provide housing for current residents, Santa Cruz County needs to build over 12,000 new housing units in the next eight years. In the unincorporated area alone, that equates to almost 600 units per year, a target that has not been reached since 1989.

Community Voice:

"Our landlord increased our rent by $300 more each month and we have been unable to find a place to live. Also, some places do not want to rent to us because we have children and because we are not able to read and write."

Getting to Results

Housing for a Healthy Santa Cruz County

County Housing Progress Dashboard