Twin LakesCA
A town of 5,073.
What should you know before moving to Twin Lakes?
Twin Lakes's standout: few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. Overall it grades B−, 206th of 841 graded towns in California. It is healthier than 78% of U.S. towns and 14% of its land is conserved. Its weakest subject is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $959K, 8.6 years of the Santa Cruz metro’s $111K median household income. Twin Lakes’ July high is 70°F, below both the California town median (89°F) and the median of U.S. towns (85°F). The biggest park or preserve is Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, at 294 acres.
What makes Twin Lakes stand out
Where Twin Lakes beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
3 miles of trails in Twin Lakes
13.6% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
How Twin Lakes grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Twin Lakes is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 2%), so the B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Levi's Stadium and 78 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Twin Lakes. Close and well known come first.
Big draw31 mi Stadium & arenaLevi's Stadium
Big draw30 mi Theme parkCalifornia's Great America
2 mi Theme parkSanta Cruz Beach Boardwalk
26 mi Stadium & arenaSAP Center
24 mi Zoo & aquariumMonterey Bay Aquarium
26 mi MuseumMonterey Museum of ArtPhoto credits
Levi's Stadium: Matthew Roth, CC BY-SA 2.0 · California's Great America: Oleg Alexandrov, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk: Josta Photo, CC BY 2.0 · 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
Moving to Twin Lakes: who provides what
Twin Lakes 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Twin Lakes.
Twin Lakes has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and has commutes shorter than most of California.
Twin Lakes has set aside 13.6% of its land for conservation
2.9 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The trail density in Twin Lakes is 2.4 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Twin Lakes State Beach | 1.9 mi | 85 |
| 2. Felt Street Park | 0.3 mi | 2 |
| 3. Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary | — | 294 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools in Twin Lakes beat 65% of California districts
Its public schools are run by the Live Oak Elementary school district. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shoreline MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 478 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests
Twin Lakes faces a very high natural-hazard risk, led by earthquakes
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 85% of U.S. communities. Since 2023, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Twin Lakes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For health, Twin Lakes earns an A−
27% of Twin Lakes adults have obesity. Twin Lakes beats the California average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 20% of Twin Lakes adults get no exercise outside work.
| Twin Lakes | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 29% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 24% | 25% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 72% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 16% |
| What stands out | Twin Lakes | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.1% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.2% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.9% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most of Twin Lakes’ workers commute out: the town has 0.5 jobs for each of them
The average commute for its 1,807 working residents takes 20.5 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
Most working residents leave Twin Lakes for work: only 2% work in town. Twin Lakes’ average trip to work is 21 minutes. Since 2013, Twin Lakes has lost 53 jobs, to 939 in 2023.
| Twin Lakes | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.5% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Work from home | 15% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $90,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Mild winters and pleasant summers in Twin Lakes
The Santa Cruz weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 323 days, longer than in 96% of U.S. towns. January nights average 42.5°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 70°.
Twin Lakes has warm winters and cool summers. Snow is almost unheard of.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes in Twin Lakes sell for about $1.51M
41% of households own their home in Twin Lakes.
| Twin Lakes | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 41% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $2,344 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Twin Lakes
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Twin Lakes
About 8 of every 100 Twin Lakes residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
98% of working residents leave Twin Lakes for work
Where Twin Lakes’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Twin Lakes
Census-designated place in California, United States
Twin Lakes is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 4,944 at the 2020 census, up from 4,917 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.2 sq mi
- Elevation
- 52 ft
Twin Lakes’s neighbors
3 towns share a border with Twin Lakes.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twin Lakes | #206 | B− | D− | — | B+ | A− |
| Pleasure Point | #163 | B | D− | — | B+ | A |
| Santa Cruz | #291 | C+ | D− | D | A− | A− |
| Live Oak | #211 | B− | D− | — | B+ | B+ |
Twin Lakes, Pleasure Point and Live Oak report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Twin Lakes with a neighbor →
Questions about Twin Lakes
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Twin Lakes, CA a good place to live?
Twin Lakes grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #206 of 841 in California. It grades A− for health and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Twin Lakes, CA expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $959,000, 26% 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−.