county

Santa Barbara County, CA

Demographic and economic profile of Santa Barbara County, CA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Santa Barbara County has a population of 444,500 with nearly flat growth (+0.1% over five years), a median household income of $98,161, and a GDP per capita of $72,215—well above median worker earnings of $38,861, suggesting significant income concentration. About 35.9% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher, the labor force participation rate stands at 62.7%, and the unemployment rate is 6.1%. Housing costs are notable, with a median home value of $735,700 and median gross rent of $2,050/month against a homeownership rate of 52.9%, and the foreign-born population makes up 22.2% of residents.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

444,500

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$98,161

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

34.6 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+0.1% since 2018

Santa Barbara County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone213,134 (48.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race100,703 (22.7%)
  • Some Other Race Alone67,486 (15.2%)
  • Asian Alone23,694 (5.3%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races21,536 (4.9%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone9,181 (2.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish136,712
  2. 2.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)5,343
  3. 3.Other Indo-European4,925
  4. 4.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)4,019
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island2,974

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

61.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

16.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

22.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

15,770

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$72,215

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$46,679

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

13.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance49,227
  2. 2.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services26,591
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services23,013
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)19,353
  5. 5.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining16,689

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations83,443
  2. 2.Service Occupations41,411
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations34,873
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations27,593
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations18,554

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 5.07×)16,738
  2. 2.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.28×)23,258
  3. 3.Professional, Scientific, & Management (LQ 1.05×)26,845
  4. 4.Information (LQ 1.03×)3,999
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 0.99×)9,668

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$735,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$2,050/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

52.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $500,000 to $749,99918,313 (23.4%)
  • $2,000,000 or More12,680 (16.2%)
  • $1,000,000 to $1,499,99911,990 (15.3%)
  • $750,000 to $999,9999,686 (12.4%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9998,032 (10.3%)
  • $1,500,000 to $1,999,9996,392 (8.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

35.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

82.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

62.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$38,861

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

20.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone130,630 (64.7%)
  • Worked At Home27,102 (13.4%)
  • Carpooled23,543 (11.7%)
  • Walked7,774 (3.9%)
  • Bicycle4,742 (2.4%)
  • Public Transit4,440 (2.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.