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Occupational Safety & Health Schools Near Santa Cruz, CA
Updated August 25, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Santa Cruz, California is home to about 60,953 residents. 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 occupational safety and health-related role is Occupational Health and Safety Specialist at a median $106,430 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Occupational Safety and Health Schools to Santa Cruz
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer occupational safety and health 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.
Occupational Safety and Health 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)
Occupational Health and Safety Specialist
$106,430
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
$96,843
Occupational Health and Safety Technician
$61,360
CA statewide
$55,833
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 Occupational Safety and Health Programs
What are the highest-paying occupational safety and health roles near Santa Cruz?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying occupational safety and health-related roles near Santa Cruz are: Occupational Health and Safety Specialist ($106,430), Occupational Health and Safety Technician ($61,360). 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 occupational safety and health 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 occupational safety and health?
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 Occupational Safety and Health Programs
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.