Santa Cruz County is located on the Pacific coast of California, just south of the San Francisco Bay Area. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. As of 2006 its population was 249,705. The county seat is the city of Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz County is a member of the regional governmental agency, Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments.

Santa Cruz County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood.

In the original act, the county was given the name of "Branciforte" after the Spanish pueblo founded there in 1797; a major watercourse in the county, Branciforte Creek, bears this name. Less than two months later, the name was changed to "Santa Cruz" ("Holy Cross").

Fairgrounds: http://www.santacruzcountyfair.com/

County Website: http://www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/

School District: http://www.santacruz.k12.ca.us/