The 10 Best Assisted Living Facilities in Santa Cruz, CA for 2024

Located along the Californian coast, Santa Cruz offers average temperatures from 45 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit year-round and easy access to a range of indoor and outdoor recreation options. Home to almost 62,000 residents, approximately 12.7% of the local community are seniors aged 65 and above.    

Santa Cruz has many assisted living communities that provide help with daily activities, nutritious meal plans, domestic tasks and maintenance. Residents also have access to communal amenities, which may include lounges, gardens and fitness centers, and communities typically offer diverse wellness and leisure activities. Monthly assisted living fees in Santa Cruz average $5,550, which is higher than state and national figures.

This guide offers an overview of retiring in Santa Cruz, including city facts, local care costs and local support organizations. It also discusses statewide assisted living fees and ways to fund care.

The California Senior Care Licensing Program, part of the California Department of Social Services, manages 14 regional offices statewide. Such offices are responsible for overseeing assisted living communities, including issuing licenses and monitoring compliance.

 

• Santa Cruz has several medical facilities nearby, including the 24-hour Dominican Hospital and Palo Alto Medical Foundation. There are around 969 patients per primary care doctor. The area also has many dental clinics and pharmacies.

 

• The air quality is moderate to good for most of the year in Santa Cruz, regularly meeting WHO guidelines.   

 

• Crime rates in Santa Cruz stand higher than state and national averages. The local violent crime rate is 5.05, while the state and national averages are 4.4 and 4, respectively. Statistically, Santa Cruz residents have a 1 in 198 chance of experiencing violent crime. Property crime is more prevalent, with a 1 in 23 likelihood of experiencing incidents such as theft, burglary and car theft compared with the California average of 1 in 43. Fortunately, many assisted living communities offer around-the-clock security measures, including CCTV, gated grounds and 24/7 staffing.

 

• The local cost of living in Santa Cruz is about 86% higher than the U.S. average and roughly 36.1% higher than the California average. Prices typically run higher for housing, groceries and health care. Although average transportation costs in Santa Cruz are higher than the national norm, fares are usually about 22.6% lower than in many other parts of the state. Plus, seniors with limited means may qualify for public assistance, including Medi-Cal — California’s Medicaid program — and Home- and Community-Based Services waivers.

 

• California taxes most forms of retirement income, including pensions, withdrawals from retirement accounts and VA benefits. However, Social Security income is exempt from state taxation.

 

• The city is home to many places of worship that cater to people with diverse spiritual and religious beliefs. The city has over 40 churches for varying denominations, including Methodist, Catholic and Pentecostal, and the area has mosques, temples, synagogues and gurdwaras.    

 

On average, assisted living communities in Santa Cruz charge $5,550 per month.

At $5,550 monthly, Santa Cruz’s median monthly assisted living cost is $300 higher than the California average and $1,050 higher than the U.S. average. Seniors in Los Angeles and Sacramento typically pay less for this type of care than their contemporaries in Santa Cruz, saving around $300 and $325, respectively, each month. Average rates run higher in Salinas, where facilities charge about $450 more monthly than in Santa Cruz. Similarly, assisted living is pricier in San Francisco, where the average monthly fee of $6,319 is $769 higher than Santa Cruz’s average.

Assisted living is the most affordable type of long-term senior care in Santa Cruz. Older adults who need assistance with daily activities while aging at home can expect to pay about $6,864 monthly for in-home care, $1,314 more than assisted living. Those requiring the visiting clinical and therapeutic services of home health care generally pay $1,457 more each month than residential assisted living. Nursing homes provide the highest level of care, with 24/7 medical monitoring and skilled services. As such, they attract the highest monthly fee, with a semi-private room running $5,096 more monthly than assisted living.

While many families use their own funds or personal assets to pay for assisted living, there are plenty of additional options to cover these costs. Some additional ways to finance assisted living costs include:

• Veterans Benefits
• Life Insurance Policy
• Long-Term Care Insurance
• Reverse Mortgage

For more information about different ways to finance assisted living, visit our Assisted Living in California page.