Demographics of Santa Barbara County, California

Santa Barbara County, California had 442,065 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: −6,260 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the American Community Survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Santa Barbara County, in four figures

442,065
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate.; −1.4%
Change since July 2020: −6,260 people.; 34.6 ±0.1
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $98,161 ±$2,430
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. Each year's change is births less deaths, net moves from abroad and net moves from elsewhere in the country, with the Bureau's small residual. The 2020 row's components run 3 months, from the April census to July 1.

Santa Barbara County, California's population shrank 1.4% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Santa Barbara County, California's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

U.S. Census Bureau — Census Bureau population estimates — counties and Puerto Rico municipios, with components of change

About this chart

The figures

Santa Barbara County, California's population shrank 1.4% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Santa Barbara County, California's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	448,325	100.0	100.0
2021	437,529	97.6	100.2
2022	445,401	99.3	100.7
2023	442,878	98.8	101.6
2024	443,081	98.8	102.5
2025	442,065	98.6	103.1

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Population of Santa Barbara County, California on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change	Births less deaths	From abroad	From elsewhere in the country
2020	448,325	+111	+556	+21	−552
2021	437,529	−10,796	+1,629	+439	−11,979
2022	445,401	+7,872	+2,186	+1,835	+3,561
2023	442,878	−2,523	+2,062	+2,363	−7,049
2024	443,081	+203	+2,125	+2,670	−4,601
2025	442,065	−1,016	+2,151	+688	−3,844

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 34.6 ±0.1: for men 34.0 ±0.1 and for women 35.4 ±0.1. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Santa Barbara County by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	California	United States
Under 5	26,895 ±159	6.1% ±<0.1	5.5% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	72,504 ±1,582	16.3% ±0.4	16.5% ±<0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	65,938 ±1,729	14.9% ±0.4	9.1% ±<0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	110,259 ±1,174	24.8% ±0.3	28.7% ±<0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	94,395 ±1,462	21.3% ±0.3	24.6% ±<0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	73,710 ±1,565	16.6% ±0.4	15.7% ±<0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $98,161 ±$2,430, and income per person $48,028 ±$926, in 2024 dollars. The median is $99,122 ±$310 in California and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Santa Barbara County by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	California	United States
Under $25,000	18,793 ±1,177	12.6% ±0.8	12.5% ±0.1	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	20,092 ±1,116	13.4% ±0.7	13.3% ±0.1	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	20,151 ±1,001	13.5% ±0.7	13.0% ±0.1	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	16,912 ±1,166	11.3% ±0.8	11.6% ±0.1	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	26,757 ±1,330	17.9% ±0.9	17.8% ±0.1	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	16,945 ±1,032	11.3% ±0.7	11.3% ±0.1	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	29,958 ±1,093	20.0% ±0.7	20.5% ±0.1	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Santa Barbara County by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	California	United States
All ages	62,400 ±3,327	14.7% ±0.8	12.0% ±0.1	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	17,297 ±1,380	17.8% ±1.4	15.0% ±0.1	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	36,015 ±1,949	15.7% ±0.8	11.0% ±0.1	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	9,088 ±696	9.4% ±0.7	11.5% ±0.1	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Santa Barbara County, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Santa Barbara County	California	United States
Housing units	160,592 ±195	14,644,735 ±1,665	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	93.2% ±0.5	92.5% ±0.1	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	6.8% ±0.5	7.5% ±0.1	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	52.4% ±0.8	55.9% ±0.3	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	47.6% ±0.9	44.1% ±0.2	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$790,700 ±$17,571	$734,700 ±$1,307	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$2,131 ±$35	$2,036 ±$5	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1974 ±2	1976 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Santa Barbara County by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	California	United States
Hispanic or Latino	213,992 ±0	48.2% ±<0.1	40.2% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	180,184 ±602	40.6% ±0.1	33.8% ±<0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	6,693 ±486	1.5% ±0.1	5.2% ±<0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	22,876 ±676	5.2% ±0.2	15.3% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	978 ±212	0.2% ±<0.1	0.3% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	294 ±102	0.1% ±<0.1	0.3% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	2,227 ±539	0.5% ±0.1	0.6% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	16,457 ±974	3.7% ±0.2	4.4% ±<0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Santa Barbara County by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	California	United States
Born in the state	258,734 ±2,835	58.3% ±0.6	56.5% ±0.1	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	79,909 ±2,195	18.0% ±0.5	15.0% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	6,636 ±767	1.5% ±0.2	1.5% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	98,422 ±2,626	22.2% ±0.6	27.0% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	39,526 ±1,740	8.9% ±0.4	14.7% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	58,896 ±2,260	13.3% ±0.5	12.3% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

Santa Barbara County among the counties of California

21st of 58 by population, July 2025. Every one is listed on the California page.

Counties of California near Santa Barbara County in population, July 2025
County	July 2025	Change since 2020
Stanislaus County	557,719	+0.7%
Sonoma County	486,444	−0.4%
Tulare County	485,146	+2.4%
Solano County	455,376	+0.5%
Placer County	442,081	+8.9%
Santa Barbara County	442,065	−1.4%
Monterey County	433,729	−1.5%
Merced County	297,260	+5.1%
San Luis Obispo County	282,367	< +0.1%
Santa Cruz County	258,852	−4.7%
Marin County	253,694	−2.9%

Elsewhere on the site

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — counties and Puerto Rico municipios, with components of change — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Data retrieved September 25, 2026