High paying tech and IT jobs in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA

Every tech and IT occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA. Read the percentile range, not just the median: the gap between the 10th and 90th inside a single tech and IT job is usually wider than the gap between two different ones, so where you land in a field matters more than which field you pick.

Cost of living: prices in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA run 9.9% above the national average (2024), so a Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA salary is worth about 0.91× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order.

Local wage estimates are suppressed more often than state ones — BLS withholds any figure too few local employers report — so an occupation missing here simply has no published local estimate.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find tech jobs in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA

OccupationMedian, Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA · Employed

1Computer and Information Systems Managers$198,770
Bachelor's degree
$126,980 – $306,260260
2Computer Hardware Engineers$169,370
Bachelor's degree
$89,080 – $214,60080
3Software Developers$156,910
Bachelor's degree
$92,520 – $209,260540
4Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers$133,970
Bachelor's degree
$75,100 – $175,960100
5Computer Programmers$132,850
Bachelor's degree
$85,920 – $166,43090
6Data Scientists$130,980
Bachelor's degree
$75,070 – $211,05080
7Computer Systems Analysts$124,450
Bachelor's degree
$81,960 – $164,660490
8Network and Computer Systems Administrators$118,810
Bachelor's degree
$79,280 – $159,870140
9Web and Digital Interface Designers$114,220
Bachelor's degree
$67,940 – $194,68060
10Computer Occupations, All Other$107,990
Bachelor's degree
$54,450 – $195,190180
11Operations Research Analysts$104,680
Bachelor's degree
$60,120 – $153,29050
12Computer Network Support Specialists$102,980
Associate's degree
$43,030 – $146,81050
13Database Administrators$102,510
Bachelor's degree
$62,200 – $155,68040
14Web Developers$81,350
Bachelor's degree
$52,380 – $136,84040
15Computer User Support Specialists$75,720
Some college, no degree
$49,490 – $113,500210

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianSanta Cruz-Watsonville, CA	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Computer and Information Systems ManagersBachelor's degree	$198,770	$126,980 – $306,260	260
2	Computer Hardware EngineersBachelor's degree	$169,370	$89,080 – $214,600	80
3	Software DevelopersBachelor's degree	$156,910	$92,520 – $209,260	540
4	Software Quality Assurance Analysts and TestersBachelor's degree	$133,970	$75,100 – $175,960	100
5	Computer ProgrammersBachelor's degree	$132,850	$85,920 – $166,430	90
6	Data ScientistsBachelor's degree	$130,980	$75,070 – $211,050	80
7	Computer Systems AnalystsBachelor's degree	$124,450	$81,960 – $164,660	490
8	Network and Computer Systems AdministratorsBachelor's degree	$118,810	$79,280 – $159,870	140
9	Web and Digital Interface DesignersBachelor's degree	$114,220	$67,940 – $194,680	60
10	Computer Occupations, All OtherBachelor's degree	$107,990	$54,450 – $195,190	180
11	Operations Research AnalystsBachelor's degree	$104,680	$60,120 – $153,290	50
12	Computer Network Support SpecialistsAssociate's degree	$102,980	$43,030 – $146,810	50
13	Database AdministratorsBachelor's degree	$102,510	$62,200 – $155,680	40
14	Web DevelopersBachelor's degree	$81,350	$52,380 – $136,840	40
15	Computer User Support SpecialistsSome college, no degree	$75,720	$49,490 – $113,500	210

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

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The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA to rank honestly.

High paying tech and IT jobs in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA

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