Santa Barbara, California demographics

Santa Barbara, CA demographics: median age 39.7; 51.9% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Santa Barbara city, California · Incorporated city · GEOID 0669070. The survey estimates a population of 87,779 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Santa Barbara is 39.7 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.1 years. There are 36,291 households (±714). 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	39.7 ±1.1	37.9 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 87,779
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Under 18	15,526 ±1,045	17.7% ±1.2 pp	22.0%	22.0%
18–34	23,468 ±1,398	26.7% ±1.6 pp	23.9%	22.8%
35–64	30,739 ±1,248	35.0% ±1.4 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	18,046 ±996	20.6% ±1.1 pp	15.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 87,779
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Male	43,232 ±1,027	49.3% ±1.2 pp	49.9%	49.5%
Female	44,547 ±1,032	50.7% ±1.2 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: 87,779
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
White alone	51,436 ±1,889	58.6% ±2.2 pp	39.7%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	1,374 ±429	1.6% ±0.5 pp	5.4%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	1,194 ±360	1.4% ±0.4 pp	1.3%	0.9%
Asian alone	3,202 ±529	3.6% ±0.6 pp	15.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	140 ±114 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.2%
Some other race alone	12,943 ±1,508	14.7% ±1.7 pp	18.5%	7.1%
Two or more races	17,490 ±1,776	19.9% ±2.0 pp	19.2%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 87,779
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	55,813 ±1,689	63.6% ±1.9 pp	59.8%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	31,966 ±1,683	36.4% ±1.9 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: 36,291
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Married-couple family	14,319 ±656	39.5% ±1.6 pp	48.4%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	1,539 ±430	4.2% ±1.2 pp	6.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	3,643 ±453	10.0% ±1.2 pp	13.1%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	11,837 ±785	32.6% ±2.1 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	4,953 ±538	13.6% ±1.5 pp	7.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 36,291
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Households with people under 18	8,502 ±540	23.4% ±1.4 pp	32.4%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	27,789 ±940	76.6% ±2.1 pp	67.6%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 36,291
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	11,837 ±785	32.6% ±2.1 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	12,344 ±830	34.0% ±2.2 pp	30.5%	33.8%
Three-person households	5,323 ±670	14.7% ±1.8 pp	16.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	3,770 ±448	10.4% ±1.2 pp	14.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	1,893 ±269	5.2% ±0.7 pp	7.7%	5.9%
Six-person households	640 ±186	1.8% ±0.5 pp	3.3%	2.2%
Seven or more people	484 ±160	1.3% ±0.4 pp	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: 87,779
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Native	70,326 ±1,380	80.1% ±1.6 pp	73.0%	85.9%
Foreign born	17,453 ±1,380	19.9% ±1.6 pp	27.0%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 83,418
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
English only	57,404 ±1,892	68.8% ±2.2 pp	55.6%	77.7%
Spanish	20,918 ±1,626	25.1% ±1.9 pp	28.3%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	537 ±187	0.6% ±0.2 pp	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	674 ±199	0.8% ±0.2 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	664 ±297	0.8% ±0.4 pp	0.7%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	1,208 ±314	1.4% ±0.4 pp	3.5%	2.0%
Korean	148 ±91 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.0%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	361 ±189 · low precision	0.4% ±0.2 pp · low precision	3.5%	1.1%
Vietnamese	417 ±307 · low precision	0.5% ±0.4 pp · low precision	1.5%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	172 ±101 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	2.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	564 ±304 · low precision	0.7% ±0.4 pp · low precision	2.0%	1.1%
Arabic	186 ±136 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	165 ±82	0.2% ±0.1 pp	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: 63,457
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	6,881 ±798	10.8% ±1.2 pp	15.3%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	7,768 ±788	12.2% ±1.2 pp	20.5%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	11,406 ±811	18.0% ±1.2 pp	19.3%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	4,448 ±547	7.0% ±0.9 pp	7.9%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	18,837 ±999	29.7% ±1.5 pp	22.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	14,117 ±824	22.2% ±1.2 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: 86,829
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Same house	74,912 ±1,136	86.3% ±1.3 pp	89.2%	87.7%
Moved within same county	7,175 ±916	8.3% ±1.1 pp	6.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	2,340 ±535	2.7% ±0.6 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	1,499 ±374	1.7% ±0.4 pp	1.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	903 ±371	1.0% ±0.4 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

8.2% of Santa Barbara residents (±1.1 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.6% in California and 8.4% nationally. 93.9% 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	Santa Barbara	California	U.S.	Compared with California
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	8.2% ±1.1 pp	6.6%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	93.9% ±1.0 pp	93.5%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	3.8% ±0.6 pp	4.3%	6.2%	Not statistically different

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 Santa Barbara . 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 Santa Barbara housing and cost context or return to the city profile.