Best Entrepreneurship Schools Near Santa Cruz, CA (2026)

Updated August 25, 2026 BLS data College Scorecard On this page

Santa Cruz, California has 5 accredited schools offering entrepreneurship programs. Santa Cruz has a population of about 60,953. Median household income is $111,427 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 57.7% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area, the top-earning entrepreneurship-related role is Marketing Manager at a median $168,980 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Entrepreneurship Schools to Santa Cruz

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer entrepreneurship programs near Santa Cruz, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Santa Cruz city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.

How We Rank Schools

Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:

  • Graduation rate 30%
  • Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
  • Average net price (lower is better) 20%
  • Retention rate 15%
  • Fully online availability 10%

Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Santa Cruz. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.

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#1

University of Silicon Valley

San Jose, CA 30.5 miles from Santa Cruz
  • 4 year
  • Campus + Online
36.9 BOC Score
Graduation rate 50%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $51,017
Avg net price $27,815/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 64%
  • Programs offered: 6

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#2

Menlo College

Atherton, CA 35.3 miles from Santa Cruz
  • 4 year
45.5 BOC Score
Graduation rate 60%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $76,419
Avg net price $31,100/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 70%
  • Programs offered: 4

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#3

Skyline College

San Bruno, CA 50.9 miles from Santa Cruz
  • 4 year
  • Campus + Online
70.7 BOC Score
Graduation rate 27%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $55,702
Avg net price $1,738/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 35

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#4

Saint Mary's College of California

Moraga, CA 59.7 miles from Santa Cruz
  • 4 year
  • Campus + Online
72.4 BOC Score
Graduation rate 76%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $78,812
Avg net price $30,378/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 85%
  • Programs offered: 4

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#5

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA 59.9 miles from Santa Cruz
  • 4 year
  • Campus + Online
70.2 BOC Score
Graduation rate 77%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $89,812
Avg net price $41,431/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 82%
  • Programs offered: 12

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#6

Modesto Junior College

Modesto, CA 73.0 miles from Santa Cruz
  • 4 year
  • Campus + Online
64.3 BOC Score
Graduation rate 28%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $42,368
Avg net price $2,818/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 71%
  • Programs offered: 62

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#7

Solano Community College

Fairfield, CA 87.0 miles from Santa Cruz
  • 4 year
  • Campus + Online
61.5 BOC Score
Graduation rate 26%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $44,170
Avg net price $4,669/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 43

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#8

Feather River Community College District

Quincy, CA 213.2 miles from Santa Cruz
  • 4 year
  • Campus + Online
43.0 BOC Score
Graduation rate 21%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $38,142
Avg net price $10,800/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 78%
  • Programs offered: 16

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all California schools on the California entrepreneurship page.

Entrepreneurship Wages Near Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz is part of the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area (BLS area code 42100). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to California statewide.

OccupationMedian WageSourceCOL-Adjusted (US=100)
General and Operations Manager$105,360Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$95,869
Management Analyst$105,480Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$95,978
Marketing Manager$168,980Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$153,758
Market Research Analyst$78,880Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$71,774

Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.

Santa Cruz at a Glance

MetricValueSource
Population60,953Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income$111,427Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+57.7%Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)109.9 (above U.S. average)BEA RPP 2024

Other Santa Cruz-Area Cities With Entrepreneurship Programs

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited entrepreneurship schools are near Santa Cruz, CA?

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering entrepreneurship programs near Santa Cruz. The closest is Cabrillo College in Aptos, CA (6.1 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Monterey Peninsula College (27.9 miles). 4 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying entrepreneurship roles near Santa Cruz?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying entrepreneurship-related roles near Santa Cruz are: Marketing Manager ($168,980), Management Analyst ($105,480), General and Operations Manager ($105,360). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with California statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Watsonville instead of Santa Cruz?

Watsonville, CA is 15.1 miles from Santa Cruz and has its own set of local entrepreneurship programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

Is Santa Cruz an affordable place to study entrepreneurship?

Santa Cruz’s median household income of $111,427 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Santa Cruz while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and California public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.

How do I verify a program is accredited?

Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.

Learn More About Entrepreneurship Programs

Other Programs Available in Santa Cruz

Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Santa Cruz:

Data verified: August 25, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.

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