Dental Hygienists salary in Santa Cruz, CA

Median pay for dental hygienists in Santa Cruz, CA: $126,490/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $121,770 – $128,680 · about 180 employed locally

Above the typical metro median ($81,085) by +$45,405 (+56%).

What it's really worth in Santa Cruz

With Santa Cruz's cost of living at 113 (US=100), that $126,490 has the buying power of about $112,162 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $104,409 · median home $1,157,157 · median rent $3,599/mo.

Full Santa Cruz cost of living & taxes →

How Santa Cruz ranks for this job

On raw pay, Santa Cruz, CA is 7th of the 184 metros we hold dental hygienists wages for. Once Santa Cruz's cost of living is applied, it ranks 11th.

Pay and living costs are roughly in step here, so Santa Cruz sits in much the same place whether you look at raw salary or spending power.

What that salary buys in Santa Cruz

A median home in Santa Cruz, CA costs $1,157,157 — about 9.1× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is harder here than in the average metro on this income.

Median rent of $3,599/mo works out at 34% of gross pay — above the conventional 30% affordability ceiling, so renting would stretch this salary.

Where dental hygienists earn more

Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Santa Cruz.

Metro	Median pay	vs Santa Cruz	Rent vs Santa Cruz
San Francisco, CA	$137,450	+9%	0.9×
San Jose, CA	$135,460	+7%	1×
Santa Maria, CA	$132,360	+5%	0.9×
Seattle, WA	$129,410	+2%	0.6×

Same job elsewhere in CA

Metro	Median pay	vs Santa Cruz	Rent vs Santa Cruz
San Francisco, CA	$137,450	+9%	0.9×
San Jose, CA	$135,460	+7%	1×
Santa Maria, CA	$132,360	+5%	0.9×
Santa Rosa, CA	$127,640	+1%	0.7×

Staying in CA keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.

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