Santa Cruz Property Tax Rate by ZIP Code

Across Santa Cruz County the ad-valorem property tax rate for most ZIPs runs about 1.1225% to 1.2075% of assessed value, with a median near 1.1401% — the 1% Proposition 13 base plus each area's voter-approved debt. Santa Cruz's total rates are relatively low; it's highest in ZIP 95019 (Freedom) at 1.2075% and lowest in 95033 (Los Gatos) at 1.0797%.

The 1% Proposition 13 base is the same everywhere, but each Tax Rate Area adds its own voter-approved bond debt — school districts, the Sierra Joint Community College District, and city, water, or special-district bonds. ZIP codes in areas with more approved bonds have higher total rates. A single ZIP can span more than one Tax Rate Area, so the figure shown is a typical rate for that ZIP, not your parcel's exact rate.

No. These are ad-valorem rates only (the 1% base plus voter-approved bond debt). Some developments carry Community Facilities District / Mello-Roos special taxes, but those special taxes and fixed direct assessments are billed separately — often several hundred to a few thousand dollars a year on top of the rate shown. If a bill looks higher than the rate here implies, the difference is usually CFD/direct charges or fixed assessments.

Santa Cruz County's public parcel extract publishes the Tax Rate Area for each parcel but not its assessed value, so we show the ad-valorem rate per ZIP and let you enter your own value. Every rate figure — the 1% base plus each area's voter-approved debt — is exact from the Auditor-Controller's schedule.