Live Oak

Live Oak is the unincorporated stretch of Santa Cruz County that sits between the city of Santa Cruz and Capitola, running from the Santa Cruz Harbor east toward 41st Avenue and from the bluffs along East Cliff Drive up toward Highway 1. It isn’t its own city, so the county handles planning and services, but nearly everyone here uses a Santa Cruz mailing address and the 95062 ZIP code. Locals usually talk about it by its pockets: Twin Lakes by the harbor, Pleasure Point out on the point, and Opal Cliffs next door toward Capitola, with quieter inland streets around 17th Avenue, Capitola Road and Portola Drive tying it all together.

The history here is a lot more agricultural than most people expect. After the Ohlone and the Mexican land grant era, settlers farmed wheat and barley, then fruit and flowers, and by the early 1900s Live Oak was poultry country. Around 1910 old farms were carved into long, narrow 2.5-acre lots that came with a small house and chicken coops, and Live Oak became a big player in the local egg and chicken business. The Depression and a disease outbreak in the coops in 1931 ended that run, paved roads and utilities arrived in the 1940s, and the efforts to annex to Santa Cruz or become a city never went anywhere. You can still see the chicken ranch era today in the deep lots and modest older houses tucked between newer homes. (More on Live Oak history.)

About 17,000 people live in the Live Oak census area, and close to 28,000 if you count the greater area that includes Twin Lakes and Pleasure Point. According to Census figures the median age is about 43 and the median household income is roughly $107,500. It’s a real mix of people, from surfers and families with young kids to longtime homeowners who bought here decades ago and have watched the neighborhood change around them.

Housing is just as varied. You’ll find original beach cottages, postwar ranch homes, newer two-story houses built on those old deep lots, townhome and condo complexes, and several mobile home parks. Redfin put the median sale price in Live Oak at about $1.1 million for the three months ending August 2026, up around 7% from a year earlier, with homes typically selling in about three weeks (Redfin market data). Homes near the water or on the bluffs run well above that. For a wider view, see my Santa Cruz home prices page or browse Santa Cruz beach homes for sale.

A lot of the homeowners I talk with in Live Oak have owned for 20, 30 or 40 years and are sitting on serious equity with a very low property tax base. If that’s you, the decision to stay, downsize, or pass the house to your kids deserves a real plan. My Stay, Downsize, or Move? page and downsizing guide are good places to start, and if you’re thinking about keeping the home in the family, read how Prop 19 works when a child inherits.

Live Oak is served by the Live Oak School District, which has had a campus at 17th Avenue and Capitola Road since 1872. The district runs Del Mar, Green Acres and Live Oak elementary schools, Shoreline Middle School, Ocean Alternative Education Center and Tierra Pacifica Charter School. High school students generally go to Harbor High or Soquel High in Santa Cruz City Schools, depending on the address, so it’s always worth confirming boundaries for a specific home.

Getting outside is the whole point of living here. Twin Lakes Beach and the Santa Cruz Harbor anchor the west end, Moran Lake County Park has a beach, a lagoon and a eucalyptus grove where monarch butterflies spend the winter, and the East Cliff Drive walkway along Pleasure Point is one of the best surf-watching strolls in California. On rainy days, families head to the Simpkins Family Swim Center on 17th Avenue.

For food, the Live Oak Farmers Market is a neighborhood favorite, the Crow’s Nest has been a harbor-side standby for decades, and Pleasure Pizza on Portola is about as Live Oak as it gets. A special night out at Shadowbrook in Capitola is a few minutes away, and Downtown Santa Cruz and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk are an easy drive across the harbor.

If you’re thinking about selling a longtime Live Oak home, helping a parent figure out what’s next, or buying here yourself, I’d love to talk it through with you. Take a look at my seller guide, read how I helped two brothers sell their dad’s beach cottage, or book a call with me and we’ll map out your options.