Santa Maria, California demographics

Santa Maria, CA demographics: median age 29.3; 15.7% 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 Maria city, California · Incorporated city · GEOID 0669196. The survey estimates a population of 110,462 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Santa Maria is 29.3 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.6 years. There are 29,505 households (±778). 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	29.3 ±0.6	37.9 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 110,462
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Under 18	34,109 ±1,395	30.9% ±1.3 pp	22.0%	22.0%
18–34	29,531 ±1,338	26.7% ±1.2 pp	23.9%	22.8%
35–64	34,667 ±1,318	31.4% ±1.2 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	12,155 ±804	11.0% ±0.7 pp	15.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 110,462
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Male	55,007 ±998	49.8% ±0.9 pp	49.9%	49.5%
Female	55,455 ±1,000	50.2% ±0.9 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: 110,462
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
White alone	27,457 ±2,092	24.9% ±1.9 pp	39.7%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	979 ±343	0.9% ±0.3 pp	5.4%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	4,412 ±1,219	4.0% ±1.1 pp	1.3%	0.9%
Asian alone	4,760 ±710	4.3% ±0.6 pp	15.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	38 ±37 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.2%
Some other race alone	22,914 ±2,222	20.7% ±2.0 pp	18.5%	7.1%
Two or more races	49,902 ±3,208	45.2% ±2.9 pp	19.2%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 110,462
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	23,105 ±1,389	20.9% ±1.3 pp	59.8%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	87,357 ±1,383	79.1% ±1.3 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: 29,505
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Married-couple family	14,395 ±741	48.8% ±2.2 pp	48.4%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	2,850 ±409	9.7% ±1.4 pp	6.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	5,601 ±572	19.0% ±1.9 pp	13.1%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	5,212 ±583	17.7% ±1.9 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	1,447 ±366	4.9% ±1.2 pp	7.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 29,505
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Households with people under 18	13,856 ±643	47.0% ±1.8 pp	32.4%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	15,649 ±970	53.0% ±3.0 pp	67.6%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 29,505
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	5,212 ±583	17.7% ±1.9 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	6,240 ±680	21.1% ±2.2 pp	30.5%	33.8%
Three-person households	4,242 ±542	14.4% ±1.8 pp	16.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	5,216 ±637	17.7% ±2.1 pp	14.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	3,502 ±419	11.9% ±1.4 pp	7.7%	5.9%
Six-person households	2,362 ±384	8.0% ±1.3 pp	3.3%	2.2%
Seven or more people	2,731 ±389	9.3% ±1.3 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: 110,462
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Native	74,063 ±1,688	67.0% ±1.5 pp	73.0%	85.9%
Foreign born	36,399 ±1,685	33.0% ±1.5 pp	27.0%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 100,816
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
English only	33,182 ±1,948	32.9% ±1.9 pp	55.6%	77.7%
Spanish	61,374 ±1,821	60.9% ±1.7 pp	28.3%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	31 ±27 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	145 ±94 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	38 ±35 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	270 ±137 · low precision	0.3% ±0.1 pp · low precision	3.5%	2.0%
Korean	61 ±60 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.0%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	263 ±157 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	3.5%	1.1%
Vietnamese	427 ±233 · low precision	0.4% ±0.2 pp · low precision	1.5%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	1,816 ±427	1.8% ±0.4 pp	2.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	474 ±258 · low precision	0.5% ±0.3 pp · low precision	2.0%	1.1%
Arabic	187 ±131 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	2,548 ±874	2.5% ±0.9 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: 61,985
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	23,221 ±1,403	37.5% ±2.1 pp	15.3%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	12,818 ±1,077	20.7% ±1.7 pp	20.5%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	11,399 ±843	18.4% ±1.3 pp	19.3%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	4,838 ±550	7.8% ±0.9 pp	7.9%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	7,083 ±639	11.4% ±1.0 pp	22.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	2,626 ±417	4.2% ±0.7 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: 109,094
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Same house	98,114 ±1,620	89.9% ±1.5 pp	89.2%	87.7%
Moved within same county	8,284 ±1,460	7.6% ±1.3 pp	6.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	1,621 ±517	1.5% ±0.5 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	564 ±266	0.5% ±0.2 pp	1.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	511 ±287 · low precision	0.5% ±0.3 pp · low precision	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

14.9% of Santa Maria residents (±1.1 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.6% in California and 8.4% nationally. 89.8% 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 Maria	California	U.S.	Compared with California
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	14.9% ±1.1 pp	6.6%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	89.8% ±1.0 pp	93.5%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	3.7% ±0.5 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 Santa Maria . 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 Maria housing and cost context or return to the city profile.