Official Federal Data
Santa Barbara County, California
FIPS 06083 · Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA · Population 443,701
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$98,161 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
4.8% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$41.4B ▲
GDP
36.8% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$98,161 ▲
Per Capita
$48,028 ▲
Mean Household
$140,893 ▲
Poverty Rate
14.7% ▲
Median Income Comparison
Santa Barbara County$98,161
California$99,122
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 22.4%
18-34 · 28%
35-54 · 22%
55-64 · 10.9%
65+ · 16.6%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
81.9%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▼ 7.7 pts
36.8%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +1.1 pts
14.8%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +0.7 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
443,701
Population
222,507
Labor Force
Employed
205,874
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.8% ▲ +0.3 pts YoY
Mean Commute 6 min below national avg
20.8 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
13.4%
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
- Elevated poverty: At 14.7%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
- Young population: Median age of 35 is materially below the U.S. norm, a workforce pipeline asset.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 29,173 workers (18.7% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $72,282.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $41.4B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $140,022 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $36,584, a 3.8x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Goods-Producing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
52,150
Cluster Employment
1.67x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry
24.32x 12,745
Crop Production
22.06x 16,116
Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing
4.39x 1,994
Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar
3.12x 778
Private Households
2.54x 721
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
2.21x 3,052
Accommodation
2.00x 5,298
1.67x 52,150
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
1.64x 2,029
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation
1.58x 66
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.08x
Warehousing and Storage
202 employed
0.11x
Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing
109 employed
0.13x
Wood Product Manufacturing
70 employed
0.20x
Telecommunications
166 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry concentrates at 24.32x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$790,700 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$2,131 ▲
Rent/Mo
52.4% ▲
Owner-Occ
6.8% ▼
Vacancy
8.1x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Stretched
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$2,459/mo
1 Bedroom
$2,746/mo
2 Bedroom
$3,124/mo
3 Bedroom
$4,075/mo
4 Bedroom
$4,647/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,454/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Stretched market: Home value to income ratio of 8.1x is well above the ~4.1x national average; attainable workforce housing may be a recruitment friction.
- Rent affordability gap: None of the HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers fall below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,454/mo); workforce housing cost burden warrants attention.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
270,592 ▼
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 6 min below national avg
20.8 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
13.4%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
79.7%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
36.8% ▲
HS Diploma+
81.9% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
77,028/yr
15,215/yr
14,884/yr
12,110/yr
12,064/yr
11,468/yr
11,287/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
17.9%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
40.5%
Service
20.1%
Sales & Office
16.9%
Construction / Maint.
13.4%
Production / Transport
9%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 205,874 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Short commutes: 20.8-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 42,209 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Santa Barbara County shows strong potential for support activities for agriculture and forestry attraction, with a 24.32x concentration and 12,745 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across support activities for agriculture and forestry, crop production, and beverage and tobacco product manufacturing creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Santa Barbara County, California, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Santa Barbara County, California?
443,701 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Santa Barbara County, California?
$98,161 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Santa Barbara County, California?
4.8% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Santa Barbara County, California?
$41.4B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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