Day Valley, California

Day Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 3,410 at the 2020 census.

Day Valley
census-designated place
Location in Santa Cruz County and the state of California
Day Valley Location in the United States
Coordinates: 37°0′32″N 121°51′24″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Santa Cruz
Area [1]
• Total	18.50 sq mi (47.92 km2)
• Land	18.50 sq mi (47.92 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)  0%
Elevation	1,316 ft (401 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,410
• Density	184.29/sq mi (71.16/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	95003
Area code	831
FIPS code	06-18153
GNIS feature ID	1867010

Geography

Day Valley is located at 37°0′32″N 121°51′24″W (37.008820, -121.856544).^[2]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 18.5 square miles (48 km²), most of which is forest and meadows, with a creek at the crossroads of Valencia Rd. and Day Valley Rd.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1990	2,842		—
2000	3,587		26.2%
2010	3,409		−5.0%
2020	3,410		0.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[3] 1990[4] 2000[5] 2010[6]

The 2020 United States census reported that Day Valley had a population of 3,410. The population density was 184.3 inhabitants per square mile (71.2/km²). The racial makeup of Day Valley was 75.2% White, 0.6% African American, 1.1% Native American, 2.7% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 8.2% from other races, and 12.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.8% of the population.^[7]

The census reported that 99.1% of the population lived in households, 0.6% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.2% were institutionalized.^[7]

There were 1,254 households, out of which 22.1% included children under the age of 18, 55.8% were married-couple households, 7.0% were cohabiting couple households, 22.3% had a female householder with no partner present, and 14.8% had a male householder with no partner present. 20.4% of households were one person, and 13.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.7.^[7] There were 896 families (71.5% of all households).^[8]

The age distribution was 17.0% under the age of 18, 5.6% aged 18 to 24, 21.3% aged 25 to 44, 26.5% aged 45 to 64, and 29.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.8 males.^[7]

There were 1,349 housing units at an average density of 72.9 units per square mile (28.1 units/km²), of which 1,254 (93.0%) were occupied. Of these, 74.5% were owner-occupied, and 25.5% were occupied by renters.^[7]

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $150,256, and the per capita income was $62,813. About 5.5% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line.^[9]

Government

In the California State Legislature, Day Valley is in the 17th senatorial district, represented by Democrat John Laird, and in the 30th Assembly district, represented by Democrat Dawn Addis.^[10]

In the United States House of Representatives, Day Valley is in California's 19th congressional district, represented by Democrat Jimmy Panetta.^[11]

Local history

Many early settlers to Day Valley (including some members of the Day and Cox families) are buried in a small cemetery in the Forest and Meadows neighborhood, at the corner of Meadow Road and Downing Drive. Cox Road and Day Valley Road are named after these families.