Santa Cruz County, CA
Santa Cruz County publishes the highest two-bedroom Fair Market Rent in this dataset: $4,214 a month, and no other record is at that figure. The next value down is $3,604, which is $610 lower and shared by 3 records.
Against a HUD Median Family Income of $137,200, twelve months of that rent comes to 36.86% of area income — also the highest of the 4,764 records here, and also held by this county alone.
Key HUD figures for Santa Cruz County, CA
HUD area: Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA MSA
- Fair Market Rent (2BR)
- $4,214
- HUD Median Family Income
- $137,200
- Very Low Income (50%) — 4-person
- $108,750
- Low Income (80%) — 4-person
- $174,550
- HUD Year
- 2026
- FMR Year
- 2026
per month
area median family income, per year
annual household limit
annual household limit
income limits
fair market rents
Compare HUD Median Family Income
- Lower HUD MFI: Ventura County, CA $135,600/year
- Higher HUD MFI: Orange County, CA $138,600/year
Fair Market Rents by bedroom
| Unit size | Monthly FMR | Annualized FMR |
|---|---|---|
| Studio / efficiency | $3,179 | $38,148 |
| 1 bedroom | $3,298 | $39,576 |
| 2 bedrooms(reference benchmark) | $4,214 | $50,568 |
| 3 bedrooms | $5,377 | $64,524 |
| 4 bedrooms | $5,659 | $67,908 |
Compare 2BR Fair Market Rent
- Lower 2BR FMR: Marin County, CA $3,604/month
HUD income limits by household size
| Income limit category | 1 person | 2 persons | 3 persons | 4 persons | 5 persons | 6 persons | 7 persons | 8 persons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extremely Low Income | $45,700 | $52,200 | $58,750 | $65,250 | $70,500 | $75,700 | $80,950 | $86,150 |
| Very Low Income (50%) | $76,150 | $87,000 | $97,900 | $108,750 | $117,450 | $126,150 | $134,850 | $143,550 |
| Low Income (80%) | $122,200 | $139,650 | $157,100 | $174,550 | $188,500 | $202,500 | $216,450 | $230,450 |
These are HUD income limits for the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA MSA area. They are thresholds published by HUD, not an eligibility determination: individual programs apply their own rules, and adjusted-income definitions (deductions, allowances, and which household members count) can change whether a given household qualifies.
First of California's 58 records, and alone at the figure
- Applicable HUD 2BR FMR
- $4,214
- Median 2BR FMR across county records in CA
- $1,687
- Difference
- +$2,528
- Difference (%)
- +149.9%
- Rank in state
- 1 of 58
The two-bedroom Fair Market Rent applicable to Santa Cruz County is above the state median for CA. It ranks 1 of 58 county records by 2BR FMR.
Rank 1 is the highest 2BR FMR in the state, and county records with an identical rent share a rank. “Approximately at the state median” means within 2% of it. The median is taken across the 58 county records published for CA — it is not weighted by households or population, and it is not a median over unique HUD areas, so a HUD area covering several counties counts once per county record.
A $610 gap between this record and the next one
California publishes 47 distinct two-bedroom figures across its 58 records, and this is the only one above $3,604. That value belongs to San Mateo County and its neighbours, whose area median family income is $200,800 — far above this county's. Top of the rent table and top of the income table are not the same records in California.
36.86% — the highest share on the site
- Annualized 2BR FMR
- $50,568
- HUD Median Family Income (annual)
- $137,200
- Annualized 2BR FMR as a share of HUD Median Family Income
- 36.9%
12 × $4,214
This is a ratio between two HUD benchmarks for the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA MSA area: the annualized two-bedroom Fair Market Rent divided by HUD Median Family Income. It is not a measured rent burden, not the share of income any particular family spends on housing, and not an affordability or eligibility determination.
Compare FMR-to-MFI benchmark
- Lower benchmark: Los Angeles County, CA 32.2%
The rent here is a corpus extreme; the area income is not
A high rent-to-income share can arise from different combinations of the two figures. Bronx County, New York, 2nd of 4,764 at 33.48%, reaches it with a rent of $2,910 against an area income of $104,300. This county reaches the maximum with a much larger rent, $4,214, against an area income of $137,200 that is 345th of 4,764 and 10th of California's 58.
The far end of the same measure is Glasscock County, Texas, at 8.45%. Between the two lies every record on the site. It is worth repeating what the measure is: a ratio between two HUD standards published for an area, not an estimate of what local households pay or earn.
The income limits inherit the same asymmetry. The four-person Low Income limit here is $174,550 — 127.2% of the area median family income, the 34th highest such share in the dataset.
HUD area for this county
- HUD area name
- Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA MSA
- HUD area code
- METRO42100M42100
- Income limits fiscal year
- FY2026
- Fair Market Rent fiscal year
- FY2026
HUD income limits and Fair Market Rents apply to HUD-defined areas that can cover multiple geographic entities. The values on this page are those assigned to this HUD entity record; entities sharing the same HUD area can have identical figures.
National economic context
The figures below are federal and national. They are not specific to Santa Cruz County and do not vary between counties.
Inflation (official BLS CPI-U national series)
Loading chart…
Fonte Dati: bls.gov — BLS CPI-U CUUR0000SA0
Mostra Dati in Tabella
| Date (YYYY-MM) | Year | Period | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-07 | 2023 | M07 | 305.691 |
| 2023-08 | 2023 | M08 | 307.026 |
| 2023-09 | 2023 | M09 | 307.789 |
| 2023-10 | 2023 | M10 | 307.671 |
| 2023-11 | 2023 | M11 | 307.051 |
| 2023-12 | 2023 | M12 | 306.746 |
| 2024-01 | 2024 | M01 | 308.417 |
| 2024-02 | 2024 | M02 | 310.326 |
| 2024-03 | 2024 | M03 | 312.332 |
| 2024-04 | 2024 | M04 | 313.548 |
| 2024-05 | 2024 | M05 | 314.069 |
| 2024-06 | 2024 | M06 | 314.175 |
| 2024-07 | 2024 | M07 | 314.54 |
| 2024-08 | 2024 | M08 | 314.796 |
| 2024-09 | 2024 | M09 | 315.301 |
| 2024-10 | 2024 | M10 | 315.664 |
| 2024-11 | 2024 | M11 | 315.493 |
| 2024-12 | 2024 | M12 | 315.605 |
| 2025-01 | 2025 | M01 | 317.671 |
| 2025-02 | 2025 | M02 | 319.082 |
| 2025-03 | 2025 | M03 | 319.799 |
| 2025-04 | 2025 | M04 | 320.795 |
| 2025-05 | 2025 | M05 | 321.465 |
| 2025-06 | 2025 | M06 | 322.561 |
| 2025-07 | 2025 | M07 | 323.048 |
| 2025-08 | 2025 | M08 | 323.976 |
| 2025-09 | 2025 | M09 | 324.8 |
| 2025-11 | 2025 | M11 | 324.122 |
| 2025-12 | 2025 | M12 | 324.054 |
| 2026-01 | 2026 | M01 | 325.252 |
| 2026-02 | 2026 | M02 | 326.785 |
| 2026-03 | 2026 | M03 | 330.213 |
| 2026-04 | 2026 | M04 | 333.02 |
| 2026-05 | 2026 | M05 | 335.123 |
| 2026-06 | 2026 | M06 | 333.952 |
| 2026-07 | 2026 | M07 | 333.918 |
Purchasing power decision engine
Decision snapshot (server-rendered)
Baseline: HUD Median Family Income adjusted from 2025-07 to 2026-07 using embedded CPI-U monthly series.
- Adjusted income is near the local median and/or purchasing power decreased materially.
- This suggests moderate affordability risk under CPI-U adjustment assumptions.
Purchasing power decision tool (CPI-U monthly)
This module converts an annual income from 2025-07 into its 2026-07 equivalent using the CPI-U series, then compares it to the HUD Median Family Income for Santa Cruz County, CA.
The baseline is HUD's Median Family Income for the HUD area, not a Census median household income. The CPI-U series is the official BLS CUUR0000SA0 index, unadjusted; months BLS did not publish are left out rather than interpolated.
HUD Median Family Income (annual): $137,200
Decision output
- Adjusted income is near the local median and/or purchasing power decreased materially.
- This suggests moderate affordability risk under CPI-U adjustment assumptions.
Methodology & assumptions (v1.0)
Adjusted income is computed as Income × CPI(to) / CPI(from) using CPI-U monthly index values embedded in this page.
- CPI-U is an aggregate price index for urban consumers; individual consumption patterns may differ.
- No interpolation is applied; both selected months must exist in the dataset.
- HUD Median Family Income is treated as the annual reference benchmark for the applicable HUD area, compared to adjusted annual income.
- This module performs a historical transformation, not a forecast.
IRS reference
Publication 15-T (2026) — Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods. Official IRS publication →
Reference only. GovCalculator does not compute federal income tax withholding. The publication's withholding methods and tables are not ingested or modelled here.
Sources & methodology
HUD income limits and Fair Market Rents are taken from the fiscal-year tables HUD publishes per HUD-defined area — which can include more than one county — and joined to this county record. State comparisons are computed across the 2BR Fair Market Rents of the county records in the same state; the median uses the middle value and is not weighted by households or population, rank 1 is the highest rent in the state, and county records with identical rents share a rank.
The income figure used throughout this page is HUD's Median Family Income for the HUD area above. It is not a Census median household income and the two are not interchangeable.
The purchasing power module applies a historical CPI ratio: Adjusted = Nominal × CPI(to) / CPI(from). No interpolation is applied and missing months are not imputed; CPI-U is a historical index, not a forecast. The “STABLE” target adds a fixed +10% buffer over the local HUD Median Family Income — that buffer is a GovCalculator heuristic, not a HUD, BLS or IRS determination.
The CPI-U series is the official BLS CUUR0000SA0 index, not seasonally adjusted, taken from the published BLS series: 36 published monthly observations. Months BLS did not publish are not interpolated. IRS Publication 15-T is cited as an official reference only — no federal withholding is calculated anywhere on this site.
Verify eligibility requirements with local program administrators: household size, deductions, and program-specific definitions can materially change outcomes.
FAQ
Which HUD area do the figures for Santa Cruz County, CA come from?
HUD assigns this county to the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA MSA area (code METRO42100M42100). A HUD area can cover more than one county, so the area name is not always identical to the county name.
Which fiscal years are shown on this page?
Income limits are FY2026 and Fair Market Rents are FY2026.
What is the Fair Market Rent (2BR) here?
The two-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $4,214 per month. Fair Market Rents for studio through four-bedroom units are listed in the bedroom table above.
Do the income limits on this page decide whether I qualify?
No. They are the thresholds HUD publishes for this area. Programs apply their own rules, and adjusted-income definitions — deductions, allowances, and which household members count — can change the outcome for a given household.
What does the FMR-to-median-family-income share mean?
It is the annualized two-bedroom Fair Market Rent divided by HUD Median Family Income for the same area, here 36.9%. Both inputs are HUD area benchmarks, so it is not a measured rent burden and not an affordability determination.
How does Santa Cruz County rank within CA?
Its applicable two-bedroom Fair Market Rent ranks 1 of 58 county records in CA. Rank 1 is the highest rent in the state and county records with identical rents share a rank. That places it above the state median.
Is the CPI-based purchasing power module a forecast?
No. It is a historical adjustment using CPI-U monthly index values: Adjusted = Income × CPI(to) / CPI(from). It does not predict future inflation.
Does this page calculate federal income tax withholding?
No. GovCalculator does not compute federal withholding anywhere. IRS Publication 15-T is cited as an official reference only; its withholding methods and tables are not ingested or modelled here.
Is $4,214 the highest Fair Market Rent on this site?
For two bedrooms, yes — it is the highest of all 4,764 records, and Santa Cruz County is the only record at it. The next value down is $3,604, held by 3 California records. Fair Market Rents are payment standards HUD publishes for an area; a high one means HUD has set a high standard for this area, not that a particular unit rents for that amount.
Why is the rent-to-income share here higher than in expensive metro areas?
Because the share divides annualized rent by the area median family income, and this county pairs the dataset's highest rent with an area income of $137,200 that is only 345th of 4,764. The share is a ratio, so a larger denominator lowers it whatever the rent does. Bronx County, New York is 2nd at 33.48% on a smaller rent, $2,910, against a smaller area income, $104,300.
Disclaimer: Estimates are informational and may not reflect every program rule or household adjustment. Always consult official guidance for Santa Cruz County, CA.