Goleta, California demographics

Goleta, CA demographics: median age 36.9; 49.4% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Goleta city, California · Incorporated city · GEOID 0630378. The survey estimates a population of 32,685 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Goleta is 36.9 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.6 years. There are 12,348 households (±386). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	36.9 ±1.6	37.9 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 32,685
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Under 18	6,192 ±655	18.9% ±2.0 pp	22.0%	22.0%
18–34	9,337 ±837	28.6% ±2.6 pp	23.9%	22.8%
35–64	11,863 ±787	36.3% ±2.4 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	5,293 ±475	16.2% ±1.5 pp	15.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 32,685
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Male	16,580 ±547	50.7% ±1.7 pp	49.9%	49.5%
Female	16,105 ±556	49.3% ±1.7 pp	50.1%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 32,685
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
White alone	16,417 ±1,010	50.2% ±3.1 pp	39.7%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	580 ±257	1.8% ±0.8 pp	5.4%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	266 ±152 · low precision	0.8% ±0.5 pp · low precision	1.3%	0.9%
Asian alone	3,625 ±556	11.1% ±1.7 pp	15.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	7 ±12 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.2%
Some other race alone	4,822 ±806	14.8% ±2.5 pp	18.5%	7.1%
Two or more races	6,968 ±1,059	21.3% ±3.2 pp	19.2%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 32,685
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	20,686 ±933	63.3% ±2.9 pp	59.8%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	11,999 ±930	36.7% ±2.8 pp	40.2%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 12,348
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Married-couple family	5,535 ±365	44.8% ±2.6 pp	48.4%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	526 ±146	4.3% ±1.2 pp	6.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	1,554 ±297	12.6% ±2.4 pp	13.1%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	2,728 ±337	22.1% ±2.6 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	2,005 ±260	16.2% ±2.0 pp	7.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 12,348
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Households with people under 18	3,395 ±316	27.5% ±2.4 pp	32.4%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	8,953 ±561	72.5% ±3.9 pp	67.6%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 12,348
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	2,728 ±337	22.1% ±2.6 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	4,484 ±428	36.3% ±3.3 pp	30.5%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,817 ±315	14.7% ±2.5 pp	16.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	2,301 ±310	18.6% ±2.4 pp	14.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	527 ±121	4.3% ±1.0 pp	7.7%	5.9%
Six-person households	317 ±130	2.6% ±1.1 pp	3.3%	2.2%
Seven or more people	174 ±104 · low precision	1.4% ±0.8 pp · low precision	2.6%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 32,685
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Native	25,169 ±718	77.0% ±2.2 pp	73.0%	85.9%
Foreign born	7,516 ±721	23.0% ±2.2 pp	27.0%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 30,892
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
English only	20,431 ±999	66.1% ±3.1 pp	55.6%	77.7%
Spanish	6,903 ±1,008	22.3% ±3.3 pp	28.3%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	125 ±88 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	301 ±137	1.0% ±0.4 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	224 ±100	0.7% ±0.3 pp	0.7%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	383 ±147	1.2% ±0.5 pp	3.5%	2.0%
Korean	264 ±220 · low precision	0.9% ±0.7 pp · low precision	1.0%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	1,244 ±312	4.0% ±1.0 pp	3.5%	1.1%
Vietnamese	355 ±217 · low precision	1.1% ±0.7 pp · low precision	1.5%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	175 ±106 · low precision	0.6% ±0.3 pp · low precision	2.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	317 ±156	1.0% ±0.5 pp	2.0%	1.1%
Arabic	88 ±102 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	82 ±55 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 22,508
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	2,316 ±549	10.3% ±2.4 pp	15.3%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	3,077 ±444	13.7% ±1.9 pp	20.5%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	3,922 ±483	17.4% ±2.1 pp	19.3%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	2,083 ±334	9.3% ±1.5 pp	7.9%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	6,297 ±585	28.0% ±2.5 pp	22.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	4,813 ±525	21.4% ±2.3 pp	14.4%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 32,495
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Same house	28,215 ±731	86.8% ±2.2 pp	89.2%	87.7%
Moved within same county	2,487 ±652	7.7% ±2.0 pp	6.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	798 ±247	2.5% ±0.8 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	822 ±403	2.5% ±1.2 pp	1.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	173 ±81	0.5% ±0.2 pp	0.7%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

5.6% of Goleta residents (±1.7 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.6% in California and 8.4% nationally. 94.4% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Goleta	California	U.S.	Compared with California
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	5.6% ±1.7 pp	6.6%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	94.4% ±0.7 pp	93.5%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	3.0% ±0.7 pp	4.3%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Goleta . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Goleta housing and cost context or return to the city profile.