Santa Cruz City Map Poster

About Santa Cruz

The U.S. Navy operated a San Francisco Bay Area facility, the Naval Postgraduate School, in Santa Cruz during World War II and the years following. The facility, now home to the University of California's Open Education Hub and many other educational institutions throughout Silicon Valley, is also known as "The Hilltop". According to United States Census Bureau figures for 2000 (California Department of Finance), Santa Cruz had a population of 58,403; however that number grew quickly by 2008 (UCSB) when it had 60624 residents . A common misperception is that students make up a large proportion of Santa Cruz's population; this is due in part because UCSC was established as an open university with relatively few restrictions on enrollment—the campus frequently ranks among America's top party schools based on various media reports and surveys such as Playboy Magazine .