Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,172.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 97% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Overall it grades C, 347th among California's 841 graded towns. The median household earns $94K and it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 87% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $755K for a typical one and 6.8 times the Santa Cruz metro’s $111K median household income. Freedom’s July high is 72°F, against 89°F in California’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Buena Vista Park, at 26 acres.
Where Freedom beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
3,070 counted in 2010 and 3,835 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Freedom is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 87% of comparable towns) to D− for hazard risk (better than 2%), so the C overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,765 in 1950, a peak of 8,361 in 1990, 3,835 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1954 and 6 maps from 1912 on.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Freedom. Close and well known come first.
Big draw33 mi Stadium & arenaLevi's Stadium
Big draw33 mi Theme parkCalifornia's Great America
23 mi Zoo & aquariumMonterey Bay Aquarium
28 mi Stadium & arenaSAP Center
24 mi MuseumMonterey Museum of Art
12 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 · Monterey Bay Aquarium: Meij.kobayashi, Public domain · SAP Center: Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Monterey Museum of Art: Sgerbic, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk: Josta Photo, CC BY 2.0
Freedom 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 Freedom.
Freedom has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and sends most of its workers to Watsonville and beyond.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Pajaro Valley Unified school district. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calabasas ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 512 | – |
| Santa Cruz County Career Advancement CharterLargest public high schoolGrades 12 | Grades 12 | 207 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Freedom has 332 jobs for its 1,535 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Freedom for work: only 1% work in town. The average trip to work in Freedom is 31 minutes. Since 2013, Freedom has added 116 jobs, to 332 in 2023.
| Freedom | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.2% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.3% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $94,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Watsonville Wtr Wks weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 324 days, longer than in 96% of U.S. towns. January nights average 40.8°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 71.9°.
Freedom has warm winters and cool summers. Freedom’s January low is 41°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Freedom beats the California average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 68% of adults had a checkup this year in Freedom.
| Freedom | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 68% | 72% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 9% | 8.1% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 31% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 36% | 33% |
| What stands out | Freedom | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.3% | 6.4% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.3% | 5.1% |
| More uninsured adults | 16.8% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Freedom | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.2% | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Buena Vista Park | — | 26 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
4 within 15 miles of the center of Freedom
About 7 of every 100 Freedom residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
Where Freedom’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Census-designated place in California, United States
Freedom is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 3,835 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Freedom.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freedom | #347 | C | C− | — | C | B |
| Watsonville | #720 | D− | D | C | C | C |
| Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley | — | — | D− | — | C | A− |
| Amesti | #654 | D | D | — | C | C+ |
Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Freedom, Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley and Amesti report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Freedom with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Freedom grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #347 of 841 in California. It grades B for health and C for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
