Best Legal Services Schools Near Santa Cruz, CA (2026)

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

Santa Cruz, California has 5 accredited schools offering legal services programs, with tuition ranging from $16,005 to $50,205 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 legal services-related role is Lawyer at a median $164,790 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer legal 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:

  • 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 California-Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, CA 1.8 miles from Santa Cruz
  • 4 year
  • Accredited
71.8 BOC Score
Acceptance rate 66%
Graduation rate 75%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $68,396
Avg net price $17,890/yr
Tuition
In‑state$16,005
Out‑of‑state$50,205
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 89%
  • Programs offered: 81

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

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

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)
Paralegal and Legal Assistant$64,690Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$58,863
Legal Secretary and Administrative Assistant$77,780Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$70,773
Lawyer$164,790Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$149,945

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering legal services programs near Santa Cruz. The closest is University of California-Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, CA (1.8 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Evergreen Valley College (26.8 miles). 3 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying legal services-related roles near Santa Cruz are: Lawyer ($164,790), Legal Secretary and Administrative Assistant ($77,780), Paralegal and Legal Assistant ($64,690). 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 legal services programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

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.

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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