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Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop salary in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA

SOC 35-9031 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median
$36,050
per year in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
Middle half
$35,400–$37,660
25th to 75th percentile
Employed
280
in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
Concentration
1.01×
share of workforce vs. U.S.

How local pay compares

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
$36,050
published median
United States
$31,200
15.5% above the national median
Rank among metro areas
26th
381 with a published estimate

State-level comparison: California ($36,640). Metro estimates cover the whole labor market, including portions that cross state lines.

After local prices: the $36,050 median has purchasing power comparable to about $32,804 nationally. Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA's BEA regional price parity is 109.9 (2024).

What the local range looks like

The wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the darker section is the middle half, and the tick is the median for Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA.

$34,540$44,500

Getting in

Typical education to enter
No formal educational credential
Related work experience
None
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training

Compare other metro areas

Every linked area below has a published estimate for hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop. Missing areas were withheld by BLS rather than measured at zero.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#Metro areaMedianCost of livingEmployedConcentrationvs. national
1San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$42,400110.41,8600.59×
2San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$39,810115.64,0900.62×
3Napa, CA$38,200112.64902.25×
4Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA$37,720107.86501.14×
5Vallejo, CA$37,520108.52800.70×
6Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$36,920113.615,3400.88×
7Salinas, CA$36,380109.06101.18×
8San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA$36,140111.94,7201.10×
9Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA$35,620108.87001.25×
10San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA$35,380108.65701.67×
11Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA$35,370110.59301.03×
12Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA$35,330106.72,3000.77×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

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