Homes, condos and land for sale and rent in Watsonville, CA

Watsonville’s land was first inhabited by an Indian tribe called the Costanoans. This tribe settled along the Pajaro Dunes since the land was fertile and useful for the cultivation of their plants and animals. In 1796, European explorers came to the land where they claimed to have seen a big bird along the side of the river, this symbol helped explorers to establish the name of the main river, which they identified as Rio del Pajaro, or River of the Bird. This river that runs along the boundaries of the city divides the Santa Cruz County and the Monterey County.
In 1847, the second wave of European explorers was presented to this land where they finally decided to settle. Forty of these explorers officially lived in the city and had animals and some crops. In 1848, the gold rush in the Sierra Mountains was an important event for the city because people began to buy land for the low price that it had, allowing them to acquire large acres of property where farming and ranching would be among the simple practices that would shape the economy of the city. In 1868, Watsonville was finally incorporated as a town in the Santa Cruz County and later became a charter in 1903 when it was named after Judge John Watson

January, normally the coldest month, has an average maximum of 59.9 °F and an average minimum of 38.5 °F. September, normally the warmest month, has an average maximum of 73.2 °F and an average minimum of 51.7 °F. There are an average of 4.9 days annually with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher and an average of 13.5 days annually with lows of 32 °F (0 °C) or lower. Cool nights are common in the summer, due to the influence of chilly Monterey Bay. The record high temperature from the late 20th century onwards was 106 °F on October 2, 1980. However, previously a June day has been recorded as 110 °F. The record low temperature from the late 20th century onwards was 12 °F on December 22, 1990, although a 2 °F low has been previously recorded.

Average annual rainfall is 22.42 inches, with measurable precipitation falling on an average of 61 days each year. The wettest year on record was 1983 with 48.35 inches and the driest year was 1976 with 10.66 inches. The most rainfall in one month was 15.99 inches in February 1998. The most rainfall in 24 hours was 5.93 inches on February 14, 2000.

Watsonville is located in the Monterey Bay area about 95 miles south of San Francisco at the southern end of Santa Cruz County.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.8 square miles (18 km2), of which, 6.7 square miles (17 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it (1.42%) is water.

The 2010 United States Census reported that Watsonville had a population of 51,199. The population density was 7,547.7 people per square mile (2,914.2/km²). The racial makeup of Watsonville was 22,399 (43.7%) White, 358 (0.7%) African American, 629 (1.2%) Native American, 1,664 (3.3%) Asian, 40 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 23,844 (46.6%) from other races, and 2,265 (4.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 41,656 persons (81.4%).

The Census reported that 50,671 people (99.0% of the population) lived in households, 322 (0.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 206 (0.4%) were institutionalized.
There were 13,528 households, out of which 7,130 (52.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 7,231 (53.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,375 (17.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 903 (6.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 890 (6.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 107 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,466 households (18.2%) were made up of individuals and 1,213 (9.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.75. There were 10,509 families (77.7% of all households); the average family size was 4.17.
The population was spread out with 16,111 people (31.5%) under the age of 18, 6,001 people (11.7%) aged 18 to 24, 14,834 people (29.0%) aged 25 to 44, 10,014 people (19.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 4,239 people (8.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29.2 years. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males.
There were 14,089 housing units at an average density of 2,077.0 per square mile (801.9/km²), of which 5,957 (44.0%) were owner-occupied, and 7,571 (56.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 2.5%. 21,365 people (41.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 29,306 people (57.2%) lived in rental housing units.