Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of California, just south of the San Francisco Bay Area, it forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. (Monterey County forms the southern coast). As of 2000 its population is 255,602. The county seat is Santa Cruz. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,573 km² (607 mi²). 1,153 km² (445 mi²) of it is land and 419 km² (162 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 26.67% water. Of California's counties, only San Francisco is physically smaller. As of the census2 of 2000, there were 255,602 people, 91,139 households, and 57,144 families residing in the county. The population density was 222/km² (574/mi²). There were 98,873 housing units at an average density of 86/km² (222/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 75.09% White, 0.97% Black or African American, 0.96% Native American, 3.44% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 15.02% from other races, and 4.37% from two or more races. 26.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.