Santa Cruz (CA) Temperature by Month

Santa Cruz in California, United States of America enjoys a stable climate, with daytime temperatures staying close to 17°C (63°F) throughout the year. Explore the full monthly breakdown below.

The temperature in Santa Cruz changes very little across the seasons, maintaining a similar climate throughout the year. Maximum daytime temperatures range from a moderate 14°C (57°F) in December to a pleasant 20°C (68°F) in September. Nighttime lows range from 12°C (54°F) in September to 5°C (41°F) in December.

The chart below illustrates the average maximum day and minimum night temperatures in Santa Cruz by month:

The coldest point of the day usually falls between 4 AM and 6 AM, with temperatures peaking around 3 PM.

The chart below shows the average temperature throughout the year:

Santa Cruz's average annual maximum temperature is 17°C (63°F). To put that in context, here's how it compares to a few well-known destinations:

Seville, Spain averages 23°C (73°F) a year, one of the warmer cities in Western Europe, with long hot summers.

Toronto, Canada averages 13°C (55°F) annually, with cold snowy winters balanced by genuinely warm summers.

Osaka, Japan averages 22°C (72°F) annually, with hot humid summers, mild winters, and pleasant spring and autumn seasons.

Tokyo, Japan averages 21°C (70°F) a year, with hot summers, cool winters, and a well-defined cherry blossom spring.

Climate temperature data is typically calculated as a 30-year average. This smooths out year-to-year variability and gives a more reliable picture of what a place is actually like, rather than what happened in any single unusual year.

The readings come from a range of sources, land-based weather stations, ocean buoys, ships, and satellites. That data is collected by weather services around the world, then pooled, quality-checked, and averaged to produce the climate records you see here.

Seasonal temperature shifts influence more than just how warm it feels, they also drive changes in rainfall, cloud cover, and wind patterns throughout the year.

Warmer air holds more moisture, which tends to mean heavier or more frequent rain during the warmer months. When temperatures drop in winter, any precipitation that does fall is more likely to come as snow or sleet, though in Santa Cruz this rarely lasts long on the ground.

For more on Santa Cruz's weather, including monthly rainfall, sunshine hours, and humidity, visit our Santa Cruz climate page.