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Veronica Vanderstoep
Term Assignment 1 - Demographics
September 25, 2014
PH-320
Introduction
Santa Cruz County is located on the Central Coast of California and is on the Monterey
Bay. It has a land area of 445.17 square miles and has a very temperate Mediterranean climate
which has a winter rainfall and mostly dry and comfortable summers. Santa
Cruz is located next to the Santa Cruz Mountains that have coastal redwood
forests and many miles of hiking and biking trails. Due to this fact as well as
its location on the coast, Santa Cruz is a very health conscious community and
there are many beautiful, outdoor recreational areas to exercise in and enjoy.
Santa Cruz County has a very large farming and agricultural community and grows a large
amount of the countrys vegetables and berries which also contributes to the awareness on health.
The main focus of this report will be the issue of obesity in Santa Cruz County. According to the
County Health Services Agency’s executive summary report (2013) the adult obesity rate is one
of the lowest in the country. However, there is a large discrepancy between the white population
and the Hispanic population in this county with regards to obesity which will be discussed later
in part two of this report.
Population
According to the most recent US Census in 2010, Santa Cruz County is considered highly
populated with 589.4 people per square mile compared with the average for the state which is
239.1 people per square mile (U.S. Census, 2010). More statistics by the census are that the total
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population of the county is 262,382 which is .7% of the total population for California. The
County Health Report for 2012 (Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency, 2014) reported that
gender is very evenly split in this county with 49.9% men and 50.1% women. They cited the US
Census 2010 as the source for their statistics. The report also mentioned that the high number of
residents between the ages of 15 to 24 may be because Santa Cruz is a college town and has both
a public university, University of California Santa Cruz as well as a community college, namely
Cabrillo College, so there are many student residents. The high cost of living and the low job
rates may account for lower statistics for adults over age 25 as compared to the state levels.
There is a high rate of white people in the county compared to the other races and compared to
California where there are more Hispanics than any other race.
The table below shows the breakdown in race and ethnicity. There are 57.9% white, 32%
Hispanic, 4.3% Asian/Pacific Islander 1.1% black and 4.7% multi-racial or other races.
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Race and Ethnicity - SantaCruz County (2010)
4.3
4.7
White
Hispanic
Asian/Pacific Islander
32
57.9
Black
Other or Multiracial
Source : Santa Cruz County Health
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Employment and Economics
The US Census also gives statistics on Santa Cruz’s general education level. It reveals
that Santa Cruz’ rate is higher than the state’s level of residents for those who have completed
high school 84.9% versus 81%. Thirty seven percent of residents in the county have bachelor’s
degrees whereas the percentage for the state is 30.5%.
The average income between 2008 and 2012 was $66,571 a little higher than the state’s
average of $61,400. The median price of a home owned by the occupant is $576,500, once
again higher than average in California at $383,900. The average family size per household is
2.71 people versus 2.93 in California. The rate for people living below the poverty level
between the years of 2008 and 2012 in Santa Cruz County was 14.4% compared to a rate of
15.3% for the state.
According to State of California Employment Development Department (EDD, 2014)
some of the major employers in the county are listed below and are from a list that was extracted
from the America's Labor Market Information System (ALMIS) Employer Database, 2014 2nd
Edition. Some of those employers are: Watsonville Community Hospital and Dominican
Hospital, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Plantronics, University of California Santa Cruz,
Creekside Farms, West Marine, Granite Construction.
Health Information
The major health service providers in Santa Cruz County are: Watsonville Community
Hospital, Dominican Hospital, Sutter Maternity and Surgery Center and Palo Alto Medical
Foundation. According to the Santa Cruz County Health Report, the ratio of primary care
physicians per resident in the county is 90.8 per 100,000 residents.
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The Santa Cruz County’s Health Status Profile for 2014 indicates that compared to the
state averages, Santa Cruz county is below the state average in mortality in most categories
except for liver disease (+10.5%), unintentional injuries(+19.5%), suicide(+32.2%) and drug
related deaths(+74.2%). Again, the report indicates that the county is lower than the state
average in infant mortality and natality over all (lower birth weight and insufficient prenatal
care) and higher in breastfeeding by 6.5%. In terms of the number of children living in poverty
the county is 5% lower than the state average.
A State of California ranking by county report that is created by the University of
Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, (2014) ranked Santa Cruz County as 11th out
of 57 counties in the state for health behaviors. Health behaviors were categories such as
physical inactivity, access to exercise opportunities, excessive drinking, sexually transmitted
diseases, obesity rates in adults and smoking.
Below is a graph showing additional rankings for quality of life (12th), health behaviors
(11th), clinical care (6th) which covers amount of uninsured residents, numbers of primary care
physicians, dentists and mental health providers for the county etc. The report also ranks social
and economic factors (16th) such as education levels, unemployment, violent crime, injury
deaths, inadequate social support etc. Santa Cruz is consistently in the top 1/3 in these rankings
proving that it is definitely one of the better counties in the state to live.
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Various Ranking for Santa Cruz County vs State
of California
Number of counties
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Quality of life
Health Behaviours
Clinical care
Area of investigation
Social/Economic
SC County
All Counties (57)
Source : www.countyhealthrankings.org
Conclusion
Overall, the County of Santa Cruz is a very good area to live in, especially for its scenic
beauty, clean air, outdoor spaces and wonderful climate. There is no doubt that problems exist
and need to be addressed such as the high rates of obesity and diabetes in the Hispanic
community, the very high rate of mortality for drug induced deaths and suicides. Considering
the average income versus the median house price that makes Santa Cruz a very expensive place
to live, it is surprising to note that the population per square mile is so high. Obviously its many
good qualities make it a very desirable place to live.
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References
California Department of Public Health (2014). County health status profiles 2014. Retrieved
September 21, 2014, from
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/ohir/Pages/CHSPCountySheets.aspx
Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency (2014). Health reports and statistics. Retrieved
September 20, 2014, from
http://www.santacruzhealth.org/resources/categories/3health_statistics_and_reporting.ht
m
State of California Employment Development Department. (2014). Major employers in
California. Retrieved September 19, 2014, from
http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/majorer/countymajorer.asp?CountyCode=000087
United States Census Bureau. (July 8, 2014). Santa Cruz county quick facts from the US Census
Bureau. Retrieved September 18, 2014, from
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/06087.html
University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (2014). County health rankings and
roadmaps. Retrieved September 20, 2014, from
http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/california/2014/overview