Santa Cruz County, California
County inventory for Santa Cruz County, California is drawn from U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Nursing Home Compare / Home Health Compare (14,710 Medicare-certified nursing homes nationwide) with cost context from the private CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey - see our methodology. Nursing-home inventory signature
7 nursing homes put Santa Cruz County in the upper nursing-home inventory tercile among U.S. counties (≥5 homes) - 725 licensed beds, CareScout 2025 California cost medians, CMS Five-Star averages.
County care plate
Sheet CA-SANTA-CRUZ-CALIFORNIA · Santa Cruz, CA
NH-SMALL · BEDS-SMALL · STAR-MID · HH-SMALL · RANK-HIGH · PHOTO-TIE · AL-MID · BOOK-FULL
- NH-SMALL 7 homes
- BEDS-SMALL 725 beds
- STAR-MID 3.4★ avg
- HH-SMALL 1 HH
- RANK-HIGH #473/2,851
- PHOTO-TIE Story
- AL-MID $7,000/mo
- BOOK-FULL 7/7 NH · 1/1 HH
Photo-finish peer: Story County, IA (0 NH count).
Stamps lead with nursing-home inventory tercile (high) plus licensed beds, Five-Star county average, Home Health Compare agencies, corpus NH-count rank, photo-finish peer, and CareScout assisted-living medians, not a generic peer board.
What a dense nursing-home book shows for Santa Cruz County
Santa Cruz County, California sits in the upper nursing-home inventory tercile with 7 nursing homes and 725 licensed beds. Across 7 rated facilities, the CMS overall average is 3.4/5 (3 at 4★+, 1 at 1–2★). Home Health Compare also maps 1 Medicare-certified agency into this county book.
Dense inventory counties still price against CareScout 2025 California medians: assisted living $7,000/mo, semi-private nursing $12,167/mo, private nursing $15,178/mo, home health aide $7,627/mo, adult day $2,037/mo. Local Santa Cruz providers may sit above or below those state medians, compare facilities, not just the headline count.
Star counts across Santa Cruz County break as 1 at 2★, 3 at 3★, 2 at 4★, 1 at 5★. Ownership leans For profit - Limited Liability company (86% of 7 homes). Named 4★+ examples include Pacific Coast Manor, Manresa Healthcare Center, Watsonville Post Acute Center. Families typically weigh the ladder alongside bed size, ownership, distance, and specialty units before visiting.
Sources: CMS Nursing Home Compare + CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey. See methodology.
Top facilities in Santa Cruz, CA
Ranked by CMS overall star rating, not an editorial "best of" pick. Visit in person and consult a care professional before choosing.
- 1 5★
- 2 4★
- 3 4★
- 4 3★
- 5 3★
Nursing Homes in Santa Cruz County
7 CMS-certified homes in this county book, ordered by overall star rating.
| Facility | City | Rating | Beds | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Coast Manor | Capitola | 5/5 | 99 | For profit - Limited Liability company |
| Manresa Healthcare Center | Watsonville | 4/5 | 59 | For profit - Corporation |
| Watsonville Post Acute Center | Watsonville | 4/5 | 95 | For profit - Limited Liability company |
| Driftwood Healthcare Center - Santa Cruz | Santa Cruz | 3/5 | 92 | For profit - Limited Liability company |
| Redwood Grove Post Acute | Santa Cruz | 3/5 | 144 | For profit - Limited Liability company |
| Watsonville Nursing Center | Watsonville | 3/5 | 87 | For profit - Limited Liability company |
| Santa Cruz Post Acute | Santa Cruz | 2/5 | 149 | For profit - Limited Liability company |
Home Health Agencies in Santa Cruz County
Medicare-certified agencies from CMS Home Health Compare, zip-joined into this county inventory.
| Agency | City | Quality Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Sutter Care at Home | Santa Cruz | 3.5 |
Read next for a dense Santa Cruz inventory
Nationwide counties with similar care inventories
Two CMS peer sets for Santa Cruz County, CA, both outside CA so the neighborhoods are not state containment (the California overview below stays the geo path).
Similar nursing-home inventory
Nearest other-state counties by certified nursing-home count (7 here).
Continue on the California elder-care overview or the highest-rated states ranking. Costs shown are California state-level medians from CareScout 2025 (county-level cost data is not available).
Read our methodology - how CMS Care Compare and CareScout 2025 are joined for Santa Cruz County.