Santa Cruz, California has 5 accredited schools offering human services programs, with tuition ranging from $7,779 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 human services-related role is Social and Community Service Manager at a median $81,130 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Human Services Schools to Santa Cruz
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer human services 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:
BOCSCORE
- 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.
Acceptance rate
97%
Graduation rate
61%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$59,247
Avg net price
$13,663/yr
TuitionIn‑state$7,779
Out‑of‑state$20,379
Key stats- Retention rate: 80%
- Programs offered: 12
Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
77%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$89,812
Avg net price
$41,431/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats- Retention rate: 82%
- Programs offered: 42
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
28%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$42,368
Avg net price
$2,818/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats- Retention rate: 71%
- Programs offered: 71
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
26%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$44,170
Avg net price
$4,669/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
25%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$37,361
Avg net price
$8,069/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
26%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$37,291
Avg net price
$14,621/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
68%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$54,340
Avg net price
$27,817/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats- Retention rate: 61%
- Programs offered: 10
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
24%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$39,269
Avg net price
$2,878/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats- Retention rate: 100%
- Programs offered: 55
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all California schools on the California human services page.
Human Services 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.
| Occupation | Median Wage | Source | COL-Adjusted (US=100) |
|---|
| Social and Human Service Assistant | $54,870 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $49,927 |
| Social and Community Service Manager | $81,130 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $73,822 |
| Child, Family and School Social Worker | $61,960 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $56,379 |
| Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselor | $58,790 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $53,494 |
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
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|
| Population | 60,953 | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003) |
| Median household income | $111,427 | Census 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 Human Services Programs
- Watsonville, CA – 15.1 mi away (77,266 pop)
- Los Gatos, CA – 17.9 mi away (30,545 pop)
- Saratoga, CA – 20.0 mi away (30,767 pop)
- Campbell, CA – 21.3 mi away (40,939 pop)
- Cupertino, CA – 23.4 mi away (60,643 pop)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many accredited human services schools are near Santa Cruz, CA?
Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering human services programs near Santa Cruz. The closest is Cabrillo College in Aptos, CA (6.1 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Las Positas College (52.4 miles). 4 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying human services roles near Santa Cruz?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying human services-related roles near Santa Cruz are: Social and Community Service Manager ($81,130), Child, Family and School Social Worker ($61,960), Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselor ($58,790). 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 human services 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 human services?
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 Human Services Programs
Other Programs Available in Santa Cruz
Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Santa Cruz:
- Marketing programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Finance programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Kinesiology programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Sports Management programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Early Childhood Education programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Elementary Education programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Biology programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Communications programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Graphic Design programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- MBA programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Criminal Justice programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Nursing programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Business Administration programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Computer Science programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Psychology programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Education programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Engineering programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Technology programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Liberal Arts programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Healthcare programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Cybersecurity programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Accounting programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Healthcare Administration programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Social Work programs in Santa Cruz, CA
- Counseling programs in Santa Cruz, CA
Data verified: July 30, 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.
← Back to Best Online Human Services Programs in California (2026)
