Santa Barbara, California Population 2024

86,390

Santa Barbara is a city located in Santa Barbara County California. Santa Barbara has a 2024 population of 86,390. It is also the county seat of Santa Barbara County. Santa Barbara is currently declining at a rate of -0.66% annually and its population has decreased by -2.58% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 88,676 in 2020.

The average household income in Santa Barbara is $144,135 with a poverty rate of 13.01%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to - per month, and the median house value is -. The median age in Santa Barbara is 39.6 years, 38.8 years for males, and 40.2 years for females.

Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, which is in the state of California, located between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains.

Santa Barbara Age and Education Demographics

Females make up 49.9% of the population residing in the city of Santa Barbara. 85% of the population has earned their high school diploma, while only 48% have earned their Bachelor's degree or higher.

Santa Barbara Population Growth

Santa Barbara's population declined 1,200 or 4.2% between 2000 and 2010. This was the only time the census has reported negative growth in the city as far back as the record goes (1880). Santa Barbara has since bounced back, and its population is now growing slowly but steadily.

The Santa Barbara area has been inhabited for at least 13,000 years with evidence of Paleoindians, Chumash people, and several villages, including Amolomol, Mispu, and Swetete. The first European to reach the area was João Cabrilho, a Portuguese explorer who sailed through the Santa Barbara channel in 1542. It was Spanish explorer Sebastian Vizcaino who named the channel Santa Barbara in 1602. Gaspar de Portola led the first land expedition in 1769.

The first permanent European residents in the region were Spanish soldiers and missionaries who were sent to fortify the area and convert native peoples to Christianity. The Santa Barbara Mission was established in 1786. As the indigenous Chumash people were converted, a village was built on the grounds of the mission, although many died from smallpox and other diseases. Spain's claim on the area ended not long after when the Mexican War of Independence ended in 1822, effectively ending 300 years of colonial rule.

The flag of Mexico flew over the area for another 24 years. Santa Barbara fell to American soldiers in 1846 during the Mexican-American War and became part of the United States. Between 1850 and 1860, the population of Santa Barbara doubled. It was during this time that a land surveyor named Haley designed the city's famous street grid, complete with misaligned streets and poor measurements.

Just before the turn of the 20th century, oil was discovered nearby, and the beach outside Santa Barbara became the first offshore oil development in the world. Most of the downtown region was destroyed by a massive earthquake in 1925, although the city rebuilt around the Spanish Colonial style. Later during WWII, many service members chose to stay in the city with the population surging by more than 10,000 between the war's end and 1950. Santa Barbara has continued its steady growth since.

Santa Barbara Demographics

According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Santa Barbara was:

  • White: 68.17%
  • Other race: 13.07%
  • Two or more races: 12.77%
  • Asian: 3.73%
  • Black or African American: 1.37%
  • Native American: 0.8%
  • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.1%
Land Area (mi²)
19.5 sq mi
Density (mi²)
4,429.70/sq mi
Growth Since 2020
-2.58% (-2,286)
The current population of Santa Barbara, California is 86,390 based on our projections of the latest US Census estimates.The last official US Census in 2020 recorded the population at 88,676.

Santa Barbara, California Population 2024

Population by Race

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Race
Population
Percentage (of total)
White60,42968.17%
Other race11,58113.07%
Two or more races11,31512.77%
Asian3,3063.73%
Black or African American1,2111.37%
Native American7060.8%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander920.1%

White

Other race

Two or more races

Asian

Black or African American

Native American

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

Santa Barbara Population by Race

Santa Barbara Population Pyramid 2024

Santa Barbara Median Age

39.6

Total

38.8

Male

40.2

Female

Santa Barbara Adults

There are 73,762 adults, (17,615 of whom are seniors) in Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara Age Dependency

57.9

Age Dependency Ratio

31.4

Old Age Dependency Ratio

26.5

Child Dependency Ratio

Santa Barbara Sex Ratio

Female44,75450.49%
Male43,88649.51%

Santa Barbara Population by Age

Santa Barbara Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Household Type
Count
Average Size
Owner
Renter
All36,2332.3940.959.1
Non Family16,7891.4726.773.3
Married14,1083.0762.437.6
Female3,2803.525.974.1
Male2,0563.5932.767.3

3

Average Family Size

2.39

Average Household Size

40.9%

Rate of Home Ownership

Married

Male

Female

NonFamily

owner

renter

Santa Barbara Households and Families

Male

Female

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Less Than 9th Grade

9th to 12th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Associates Degree

Bachelors Degree

Graduate Degree

Santa Barbara Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Santa Barbara Educational Attainment by Race

High School Graduation Rate

Bachelors Rate

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The highest rate of high school graduation is among white people with a rate of 97.68%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among white people with a rate of 65.7%.

Santa Barbara Educational Attainment by Race

All

Male

Female

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$57,157

Average Earnings

$61,722

Average Male

$52,578

Average Female

Santa Barbara Earnings by Educational Attainment

Santa Barbara Language by Age

Only English

Spanish

Other Indo-European Languages

Asian and Pacific Island Languages

Other Languages

Santa Barbara Language

68.2% of Santa Barbara residents speak only English, while 31.8% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 25.92% of the population.

Santa Barbara Language

Santa Barbara Poverty by Race

rate

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Name
Total
In Poverty
Poverty Rate
Hispanic31,4755,13716.32%
White48,3635,11410.57%
Other11,2872,21319.61%
Multiple11,2531,81216.1%
Asian3,28242212.86%
Black1,20126522.06%
Native7068812.46%
Islander926975%

13.01%

Overall Poverty Rate

10.29%

Male Poverty Rate

15.68%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in Santa Barbara

The race most likely to be in poverty in Santa Barbara is Islander, with 75% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in Santa Barbara is White, with 10.57% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 2.78%. Among those working part-time, it was 19.62%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 20.87%.

Santa Barbara Poverty

rate

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Rate
Poverty
Less Than 9th Grade19.5%
High School13.27%
Some College13.26%
Bachelors or Greater5.07%

Santa Barbara Poverty Rate by Education

rate

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Rate
Poverty
Female Unemployed39.54%
Male Unemployed38.39%
Female Employed9.73%
Male Employed6.31%

Santa Barbara Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Santa Barbara Income by Household Type

Households

Families

MarriedFamilies

NonFamilies

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mean

median

Income by Household Type

Santa Barbara Marital Status

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Marriage Rates

41.4%

Overall Marriage Rate

44.0%

Male Marriage Rate

38.9%

Female Marriage Rate

Santa Barbara Married by Age and Sex

male

female

Santa Barbara Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 35-44.

Santa Barbara Marital Status by Race

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Santa Barbara Marital Status

Second Gulf War

First Gulf War

Vietnam

Korea

World War II

3,013

Number of Veterans

2,808

Male Veterans

205

Female Veterans

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Santa Barbara Veterans by War

count

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Santa Barbara Veterans by Age

count

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Santa Barbara Veterans by Race

Santa Barbara Veterans by Education

Less Than 9th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Bachelors or Greater

7.1%

Veteran Poverty Rate

18.79%

Veteran Disability Rate

Santa Barbara Veterans by Education

LaborForceParticipation

64.9%

Labor Force Participation

62%

Employment Rate

4.4%

Unemployment Rate

Santa Barbara Employment by Age

LaborForceParticipation

Santa Barbara Employment by Race

LaborForceParticipation

Santa Barbara Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

54.49%

Born in Santa Barbara

78.93%

Native Born

21.07%

Foreign Born

12.85%

Non Citizen

8.23%

Naturalized

Place of Birth

78.93% of Santa Barbara residents were born in the United States, with 54.49% having been born in California. 12.85% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Latin America.

Santa Barbara Place of Birth

Note: data after 2022 is projected based on recent change

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Year
Population
Growth
Growth Rate
202983,532-572-0.68%
202884,104-571-0.67%
202784,675-572-0.67%
202685,247-571-0.67%
202585,818-572-0.66%
202486,390-571-0.66%
202386,961-572-0.65%
202287,533-783-0.89%
202188,316-360-0.41%
202088,676-1,892-2.09%
201990,568-281-0.31%
201890,849-379-0.42%
201791,228-355-0.39%
201691,583-145-0.16%
201591,7282360.26%
201491,4927060.78%
201390,7861,0261.14%
201289,7608270.93%
201188,9333890.44%
201088,54400%
200092,3256,7547.89%
199085,57111,15714.99%
198074,4144,1995.98%
197070,21511,44719.48%
196058,76813,85530.85%
195044,9139,95528.48%
194034,9581,3454%
193033,61314,17272.9%
192019,4417,78266.75%
191011,6595,07277%
19006,58772312.33%
18905,8642,40469.48%
18803,460-795-18.68%
18704,2551,90480.99%
18602,351-81,181-97.19%
showing: 35 rows

Santa Barbara Population by Year