Best Online Human Services Programs in Santa Cruz, CA (2026)

Updated August 10, 2026 BLS data College Scorecard On this page

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.

No school data available.

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.

OccupationMedian WageSourceCOL-Adjusted (US=100)
Social and Human Service Assistant$54,870Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$49,927
Social and Community Service Manager$81,130Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$73,822
Child, Family and School Social Worker$61,960Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$56,379
Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselor$58,790Santa 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

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 Human Services Programs

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:

Data verified: August 10, 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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