Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Scotts Valley grades B+ overall, 104th among California's 841 graded towns. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 93% of the country and its schools outperform 88% of the state's. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $1.2 million, 11.1 years of the Santa Cruz metro’s $111K median household income. Scotts Valley’s typical home value is $1,234,000, where California’s towns sit at $709,000 and U.S. towns at $332,000. Scotts Valley is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 92% of U.S. towns. On civic life, just 25 of California’s 463 towns do better.
Where Scotts Valley beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
12.6% of the town is conserved land, across 9 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Scotts Valley is from typical.
Its grades run from A for health (better than 93% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 2%), so the B+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,621 in 1970, 12,224 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1853 and 5 maps from 1943 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Scotts Valley. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaLevi's Stadium
Big draw24 mi Theme parkCalifornia's Great America
20 mi Stadium & arenaSAP Center
6 mi Theme parkSanta Cruz Beach Boardwalk
31 mi Zoo & aquariumMonterey Bay Aquarium
32 mi MuseumMonterey Museum of ArtLevi'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 · Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk: Josta Photo, CC BY 2.0 · Monterey Bay Aquarium: Meij.kobayashi, Public domain · Monterey Museum of Art: Sgerbic, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Scotts Valley, and how to reach them.
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 Scotts Valley.
Scotts Valley has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and has less no health insurance than most of California, but it has seen reported crime rise by a third or more.
10 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. Scotts Valley’s trail density is 2.2 miles per square mile. Lodato Open Space Preserve, at 51 acres with 1.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. West Glenwood Preserve | 2.8 mi | 50 |
| 2. Lodato Open Space Preserve | 1.3 mi | 51 |
| 3. Skypark | 0.8 mi | 43 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.23M.
Its public schools are run by the Scotts Valley Unified school district. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Scotts Valley High, with 611 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vine Hill ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 549 | A− |
| Scotts Valley HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 611 | A− |
| Scotts Valley MiddleTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 463 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
At 11.1 years of the Santa Cruz metro’s $111K median household income, the typical home (about $1.23M) costs more against local pay than in 82% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $7,933, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Scotts Valley is $2,491 a month. The typical Scotts Valley home is worth about $1,234,000, up 2.7% in a year, 62% above the California typical home.
| Scotts Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,491 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its widest gap with California is no health insurance: 4.4% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 10.6% statewide. Against the 3,256 U.S. towns with household incomes like Scotts Valley’s, it is healthier than 73%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
24% of adults have obesity in Scotts Valley. Scotts Valley beats the California average on 16 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 31% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Scotts Valley.
| Scotts Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 29% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 24% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 35% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.6% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Scotts Valley | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.4% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.1% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.6% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 95% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 11 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Scotts Valley.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Santa Cruz weather station, 5 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 323 days, longer than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Scotts Valley has mild winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 79°, January nights drop to 39° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
26.1% of workers work from home, against 17.2% across California.
Most working residents leave Scotts Valley for work: only 12% work in town. 5.9% of Scotts Valley residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are San Jose (13%), Santa Cruz (12%) and Santa Clara (3%).
| Scotts Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $144,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.9% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes rose from 162 to 208 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within California, it does better than 67% of towns.
| Scotts Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.6 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.1 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
4 within 15 miles of the center of Scotts Valley
About 7 of every 100 Scotts Valley residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
City in California, United States
Scotts Valley is a small city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, about thirty miles (48 km) south of downtown San Jose and six miles (9.7 km) north of the city of Santa Cruz, in the upland slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 12,224. Principal access to the city is supplied by State Route 17 that connects San Jose and Santa Cruz. The city was incorporated in 1966.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Scotts Valley grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #104 of 841 in California. It grades A for health, C+ for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within California, it does better than 67% of towns.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
