Best Hospitality & Tourism Management Schools Near Santa Cruz, CA

Updated August 31, 2026 BLS data College Scorecard On this page

Santa Cruz, California has 5 accredited schools offering hospitality management programs, with tuition ranging from $7,583 to $26,987 per year for indexed 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 hospitality management-related role is Food Service Manager at a median $77,470 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Hospitality Management Schools to Santa Cruz

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer hospitality management 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

California State University-Monterey Bay

Seaside, CA 26.1 miles from Santa Cruz
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Accredited
75.7 BOC Score
Acceptance rate 97%
Graduation rate 61%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $59,247
Avg net price $13,663/yr
Tuition
In‑state$7,779
Out‑of‑state$20,379
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 80%
  • Programs offered: 33

Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University CommissionIPEDSCollege Scorecard

#2

San Jose State University

San Jose, CA 26.1 miles from Santa Cruz
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
86.3 BOC Score
Graduation rate 78%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $78,988
Avg net price $13,760/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 87%
  • Programs offered: 118

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#3

California State University-East Bay

Hayward, CA 46.9 miles from Santa Cruz
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Accredited
79.2 BOC Score
Acceptance rate 97%
Graduation rate 47%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $71,401
Avg net price $9,320/yr
Tuition
In‑state$7,583
Out‑of‑state$20,183
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 77%
  • Programs offered: 59

Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University CommissionIPEDSCollege Scorecard

#4

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA 56.8 miles from Santa Cruz
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
78.9 BOC Score
Graduation rate 67%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $68,077
Avg net price $12,278/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 83%
  • Programs offered: 102

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#5

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA 59.7 miles from Santa Cruz
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
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: 81

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#6

Shasta College

Redding, CA 252.4 miles from Santa Cruz
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
60.4 BOC Score
Graduation rate 24%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $39,269
Avg net price $2,878/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 100%
  • Programs offered: 68

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#7

Moorpark College

Moorpark, CA 257.9 miles from Santa Cruz
  • 4 year
65.2 BOC Score
Graduation rate 34%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $49,044
Avg net price $-2,296/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 63

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#8

California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, CA 260.1 miles from Santa Cruz
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
68.3 BOC Score
Graduation rate 76%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $68,712
Avg net price $30,109/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 80%
  • Programs offered: 60

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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

Hospitality Management 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)
Lodging Manager$76,950CA statewide$70,018
Food Service Manager$77,470Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$70,491
Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner$67,550Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$61,465

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 Hospitality Management Programs

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited hospitality management schools are near Santa Cruz, CA?

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering hospitality management programs near Santa Cruz. The closest is California State University-Monterey Bay in Seaside, CA (26.1 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is California State University-East Bay (46.9 miles). 3 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying hospitality management roles near Santa Cruz?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying hospitality management-related roles near Santa Cruz are: Food Service Manager ($77,470), Lodging Manager ($76,950), Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner ($67,550). 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 hospitality management 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 hospitality management?

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 Hospitality Management Programs

Other Programs Available in Santa Cruz

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

Data verified: August 31, 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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