Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2,127 people call this town in California home.
The best of Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley’s subject grades are an A for incomes and an A− for health; the weakest is a D− for hazard risk. 34% of residents are 65 or older in Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, where California’s towns sit at 16% and U.S. towns at 18%. The typical home is worth about $1.2 million, 10.7 years of the Santa Cruz metro’s $111K median household income. The biggest park or preserve is Freedom Lake Park, at 34 acres. Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,205 in 1990, 2,383 in 2020. The archive holds 6 maps from 1912 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley. Close and well known come first.
Big draw31 mi Stadium & arenaLevi's Stadium
Big draw31 mi Theme parkCalifornia's Great America
26 mi Stadium & arenaSAP Center
24 mi Zoo & aquariumMonterey Bay Aquarium
26 mi MuseumMonterey Museum of Art
10 mi Theme parkSanta Cruz Beach BoardwalkLevi's Stadium: Matthew Roth, CC BY-SA 2.0 · California's Great America: Oleg Alexandrov, CC BY-SA 4.0 · SAP Center: Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Monterey Bay Aquarium: Meij.kobayashi, Public domain · Monterey Museum of Art: Sgerbic, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk: Josta Photo, CC BY 2.0
Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley is unincorporated, so Santa Cruz County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley.
FEMA puts 53% of Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley’s expected hazard losses down to earthquakes, and 32% to inland flooding. Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 98% of U.S. communities. Flood insurance has paid one claim locally since 2023.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its one school is below. The largest public high school is Aptos High, with 1,274 students. The Pajaro Valley Unified school district runs its public schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aptos HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,274 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley’s midpoint age stands at 52.3 years. California has 37% of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 44%.
| Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 52.3 years | 39 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 29% | 29% |
47% women, 53% men
About 114 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.2 points). Across California, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.3% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4.7% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.6% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.1% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.3% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.3% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.1% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 18.1% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 15.4% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 13% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 7.6% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 31.3% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 4.4% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 28.9% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.8% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,100, single groups can be off by several points
In Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, nearly a third of adults sleep under 7 hours, and 20% get no exercise outside work. The town beats the California average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. For adults locally, the share who have obesity is 26%.
| Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 29% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 24% | 25% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.9% | 17.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.3% | 14.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Since 2013, Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley has added 241 jobs, to 514 in 2023. Just 3% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. In Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, the middle household income is $159,000. The top destinations are Watsonville (13%), Santa Cruz (10%) and San Jose (10%).
| Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $159,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.9% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
July afternoons reach 73°, January nights drop to 41° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Count the trails in 4 parks and preserves and they come to 3.8 miles. Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley’s trail density comes in at 0.4 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves locally: 4, covering 46 acres.
| Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.1% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Freedom Lake Park | — | 34 |
| 2. Buena Vista Park | 0.2 mi | 7 |
| 3. Scott Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical rent for Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley comes to $3,501 a month. In Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, nearly four in five households own their home.
| Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,501 a month | $1,896 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 79% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
4 within 15 miles of the center of Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley
About 6 of every 100 Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Census-designated place in California, United States
Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley is an unincorporated community in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. It is identified as one of several small communities with a combined population of 24,402, forming the unincorporated town of Aptos by the local Chamber of Commerce, along with: Aptos Village Cabrillo Seacliff, south of State Route 1, west of Aptos Creek Rio Del Mar, south of State Route 1, from Aptos Creek southeast to Seascape Seascape, south of State Route 1, centered on Seascape Beach Resort For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley as a census-designated place (CDP). The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley | — | — | D− | — | C | A− |
| Corralitos | — | — | D− | — | C | A− |
| Freedom | #347 | C | C− | — | C | B |
| Day Valley | #340 | C | C− | — | C | A |
| Aptos | #260 | C+ | D | — | C | A |
| La Selva Beach | — | — | D− | — | C | B |
Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, Corralitos and La Selva Beach have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, Corralitos, Freedom, Day Valley, Aptos and La Selva Beach report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $1,185,000, 56% above the California typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
