Marine economy · Santa Cruz County, CA
Marine economy
Businesses that are dependent on marine resources are particularly vulnerable to coastal hazards. (Note: “Total coastal economy” refers to all economic activity in the shoreline counties and is covered in the total economy section of this page.)
If You Can't Measure It, You Can't Protect It
of total employment in Santa Cruz County is in the marine economy.
- Establishments
- 638
- Jobs (some sectors withheld)
- 9,967
- Wages (some sectors withheld)
- $340.69M
- GDP (some sectors withheld)
- $677.05M
Some sectors withheld, see the sector chart.
Business Diversity
Understanding the types and amounts of businesses in the marine economy will inform community planning and management initiatives. This graphic highlights the six sectors that make up the marine economy.
Share of the county total, by sector.
Share of the county total, by sector: data table
| Category | Living resources (some figures withheld) | Marine construction | Marine transportation | Offshore mineral resources (some figures withheld) | Ship and boat building (some figures withheld) | Tourism and recreation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Establishments | 14 | 3 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 600 |
| Wages | withheld | ≈ $835.46k | $10.34M | withheld | withheld | $329.51M |
| Employment | withheld | ≈ 14 | 164 | withheld | withheld | 9,789 |
| GDP | withheld | ≈ $1.51M | $16.35M | withheld | withheld | $659.18M |
Shares exclude withheld sectors.
Living resources, Offshore mineral resources and Ship and boat building withheld; not enough reliable data.The approximately-equals sign and hatched segments are estimates.
Wages
Understanding wage vulnerability helps leaders better understand the long and short-term impact of coastal storms, economic downturns, etc. Lower wage sectors are usually affected the most.
Tourism and recreation has the lowest average wage per job in coastal California.
Average wage per job, by sector.
Average wage per job, by sector: data table
| Category | County | Coastal California | All Coastal States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Living resources (some figures withheld) | withheld | $64,138 | $59,563 |
| Marine construction | ≈ $54,930 | $135,639 | $102,260 |
| Marine transportation | $60,272 | $93,343 | $72,991 |
| Offshore mineral resources (some figures withheld) | withheld | $134,731 | $193,706 |
| Ship and boat building (some figures withheld) | withheld | $89,401 | $82,170 |
| Tourism and recreation | $33,207 | $37,578 | $35,063 |
All Coastal States means the coastal portions of 30 states, not the whole country.
Living resources, Offshore mineral resources and Ship and boat building withheld; not enough reliable data.The approximately-equals sign and dashed rings are estimates.
Total Jobs
Many economic reports don't include the self-employed in their job numbers, yet this group can play an important role in the local economy. Most commercial fishermen, for instance, are self-employed.
tourism and recreation workers in Santa Cruz County are self-employed, more than any other sector.
- Employed workers, 2025 (some sectors withheld)
- 9,967
- Self-employed workers, 2021
- 280
Some sectors withheld, see the sector chart.
Data, methods and citation
- Snapshot
- 2026-10-22
- Methodology
- Version 1. What changed: https://seachangeatlas.org/county-profiles/about/changelog/#methodology-changelog
- Estimates
- Some figures are estimated with NOAA's Open ENOW method, and some are withheld. How estimates are made: https://seachangeatlas.org/county-profiles/about/economy/#estimated. Why figures are withheld: https://seachangeatlas.org/county-profiles/about/economy/#withheld-reasons
Recommended citation. California Sea Change Atlas. (2026, October 22). Santa Cruz County coastal county profile: Marine economy. https://seachangeatlas.org/county-profiles/county/santa-cruz/2026-10-22/marine-economy/
| Source | Period covered | Retrieved |
|---|---|---|
| BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (annual averages) https://www.bls.gov/cew/ | 2025 | 2026-10-22 |
| BEA GDP by state and industry (SAGDP2), California https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gdp-industry | 2025 | 2026-10-22 |
| Census ZIP Code Business Patterns and shoreline-adjacent ZIP codes https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/data/datasets.html | 2023 | 2026-10-22 |
| BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (annual averages), wages comparison year https://www.bls.gov/cew/ | 2024 | 2026-10-22 |
| NOAA Open ENOW (California and All Coastal States) https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/data/enow.html | 2024 | 2026-10-22 |
| NOAA ENOW self-employed workers https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/data/enow-nes.html | 2021 | 2026-10-22 |