Most of Santa Cruz is in Santa Cruz County, where a full-time job needs to pay at least $130.88 an hour before taxes to take home four times the typical studio rent.
Across the 6 ZIP codes in Santa Cruz with HUD rent figures, studio rents run from $2,870 to $3,990 a month. At the middle rent, $3,505, a full-time job would need to pay $135.84 an hour before taxes.
What the standard would be at each ZIP code's own studio rent. The calculator and the official standard use the county figure.
| ZIP | County | Studio rent | Pay needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 95060 | Santa Cruz County | $3,990/mo | $157.42/hr |
| 95061 | Santa Cruz County | $3,230/mo | $123.99/hr |
| 95062 | Santa Cruz County | $3,870/mo | $151.97/hr |
| 95063 | Santa Cruz County | $3,230/mo | $123.99/hr |
| 95064 | Santa Cruz County | $2,870/mo | $108.87/hr |
| 95065 | Santa Cruz County | $3,780/mo | $147.89/hr |
Under the Four Times Rent standard, a full-time job in Santa Cruz needs to pay at least $130.88 an hour before taxes, about $272,229 a year. That is the figure for Santa Cruz County, where the typical studio rent is $3,390 a month.
Yes. Across the 6 ZIP codes in Santa Cruz with HUD rent figures, studio rents run from $2,870 to $3,990 a month. At the middle rent of $3,505, the pay needed would be $135.84 an hour.
The minimum wage in Santa Cruz County is $16.90 an hour. The Four Times Rent standard there is 7.7 times that.
The Four Times Rent standard: a month of full-time work (160 hours) should take home at least four times the typical rent on a studio apartment in the county where the work is done. Rents: HUD FY2027 Fair Market Rents. Taxes: 2026 federal and state income taxes plus Social Security and Medicare, for a single filer. Why four times rent? · Method and data downloads