Demographics of Watsonville city, California

Watsonville city, California had 50,716 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: −1,755 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Watsonville city, in four figures

50,716
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate. The survey’s 2020–⁠2024 figure is 51,712 ±34.; −3.3%
Change since July 2020: −1,755 people.; 33.8 ±1.2
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $78,393 ±$5,682
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. The Bureau publishes no births, deaths or migration for a place, so the change is the difference between one July estimate and the next.

Watsonville city, California's population shrank 3.3% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Watsonville city, California's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

Source: The Census Bureau

About this chart

The figures

Watsonville city, California's population shrank 3.3% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Watsonville city, California's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	52,471	100.0	100.0
2021	52,077	99.2	100.2
2022	51,488	98.1	100.7
2023	51,149	97.5	101.6
2024	50,986	97.2	102.5
2025	50,716	96.7	103.1

Population of Watsonville city, California on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change
2020	52,471	—
2021	52,077	−394
2022	51,488	−589
2023	51,149	−339
2024	50,986	−163
2025	50,716	−270

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 33.8 ±1.2: for men 33.7 ±1.3 and for women 33.9 ±2.0. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Watsonville city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	California	United States
Under 5	3,134 ±405	6.1% ±0.8	5.5% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	11,928 ±774	23.1% ±1.5	16.5% ±<0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	5,536 ±606	10.7% ±1.2	9.1% ±<0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	12,456 ±848	24.1% ±1.6	28.7% ±<0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	11,945 ±777	23.1% ±1.5	24.6% ±<0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	6,713 ±643	13.0% ±1.2	15.7% ±<0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $78,393 ±$5,682, and income per person $28,021 ±$1,373, in 2024 dollars. The median is $99,122 ±$310 in California and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Watsonville city by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	California	United States
Under $25,000	2,318 ±453	15.3% ±2.9	12.5% ±0.1	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	2,519 ±389	16.6% ±2.5	13.3% ±0.1	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	2,353 ±442	15.5% ±2.9	13.0% ±0.1	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	2,673 ±433	17.6% ±2.8	11.6% ±0.1	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	2,638 ±378	17.4% ±2.4	17.8% ±0.1	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	1,164 ±273	7.7% ±1.8	11.3% ±0.1	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	1,486 ±275	9.8% ±1.8	20.5% ±0.1	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Watsonville city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	California	United States
All ages	7,535 ±1,196	14.7% ±2.3	12.0% ±0.1	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	2,861 ±516	19.5% ±3.2	15.0% ±0.1	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	3,047 ±494	11.1% ±1.8	11.0% ±0.1	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	1,627 ±436	17.9% ±4.5	11.5% ±0.1	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Watsonville city, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Watsonville city	California	United States
Housing units	15,790 ±622	14,644,735 ±1,665	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	96.0% ±5.3	92.5% ±0.1	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	4.0% ±1.7	7.5% ±0.1	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	44.8% ±3.3	55.9% ±0.3	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	55.2% ±2.8	44.1% ±0.2	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$686,000 ±$24,605	$734,700 ±$1,307	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$1,889 ±$100	$2,036 ±$5	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1977 ±2	1976 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Watsonville city by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	California	United States
Hispanic or Latino	42,560 ±887	82.3% ±1.7	40.2% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	6,545 ±769	12.7% ±1.5	33.8% ±<0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	66 to 358	0.1% to 0.7%	5.2% ±<0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	1,273 ±354	2.5% ±0.7	15.3% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	16 to 112	< 0.1% to 0.2%	0.3% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0 to 33	0% to 0.1%	0.3% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	79 to 519	0.2% to 1.0%	0.6% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	747 ±259	1.4% ±0.5	4.4% ±<0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Watsonville city by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	California	United States
Born in the state	30,299 ±1,178	58.6% ±2.3	56.5% ±0.1	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	2,583 ±379	5.0% ±0.7	15.0% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	495 ±161	1.0% ±0.3	1.5% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	18,335 ±1,163	35.5% ±2.2	27.0% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	6,011 ±744	11.6% ±1.4	14.7% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	12,324 ±1,079	23.8% ±2.1	12.3% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

Watsonville city among the places of California

181st of 661 places of 5,000 or more by the survey’s 2020–2024 count. Every one is listed on the California page.

Places of California near Watsonville city in population, ACS 2020–2024
Place	ACS 2020–⁠2024
Placentia city	52,826 ±59
Novato city	52,546 ±71
Cathedral City city	52,267 ±75
Paramount city	52,050 ±59
Palm Desert city	51,990 ±43
Watsonville city	51,712 ±34
Delano city	51,679 ±39
Aliso Viejo city	51,113 ±58
El Dorado Hills CDP	51,026 ±1,880
Glendora city	50,926 ±56
Florin CDP	50,211 ±2,432

Elsewhere on the site

Reported crime in Watsonville city, California

Rankings this appears in

No. 40 Places in California by Hispanic or Latino share
No. 49 Places in California by poverty rate
No. 68 Places in California by foreign-born share
No. 104 Places by Hispanic or Latino share
No. 212 Places by foreign-born share
No. 230 Places in California by median rent

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Compiled automatically from Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns and American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built

Data retrieved September 25, 2026