What is the median rent in Isla Vista, CA?

Name: Median rent in Isla Vista, CA, 2020–2024
Creator: US Census Bureau
License: https://www.census.gov/data/developers/about/terms-of-service.html

The median gross rent in Isla Vista, CA is $1,878 (±$95) a month, according to the US Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey.

That is across 4,657 rented homes; gross rent is the contract rent plus the utilities and fuels a renter pays separately.

In Isla Vista, the median gross rent went from $1,503 in 2015–2019 to $1,878 in 2020–2024 (+25.0%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years; the change is not measurably different from the rise in prices.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Median gross rent: $1,878 (±$95)
Rented homes: 4,657 (±367)
$2,000 or more: 42.5%
Since 2015–2019: +25.0%

How much rent costs in Isla Vista

Share of rented homes in each gross-rent range, 2020–2024
Monthly gross rent	Isla Vista	Santa Barbara County	California	United States
Less than $500	0.9% (±0.4 points)	3.3%	3.6%	6.3%
$500 to $999	5.0% (±2.2 points)	5.1%	7.2%	20.2%
$1,000 to $1,499	20.8% (±5.7 points)	13.5%	16.2%	28.1%
$1,500 to $1,999	30.9% (±6.6 points)	22.5%	21.5%	21.1%
$2,000 to $2,499	14.9% (±4.9 points)	21.5%	19.8%	12.0%
$2,500 to $2,999	8.0% (±3.5 points)	12.5%	12.5%	5.5%
$3,000 or more	19.6% (±5.8 points)	21.6%	19.1%	6.8%

The most common range is $1,500 to $1,999, paid by 30.9% of renting households.

42.5% of rented homes in Isla Vista cost $2,000 or more a month.

Isla Vista against Santa Barbara County, its state and the nation

Estimate (90% margin of error)
	Isla Vista	Santa Barbara County	California	United States
Median gross rent	$1,878 (±$95)	$2,131 (±$35)	$2,036 (±$5)	$1,413
Rented homes paying rent	4,657 (±367)	68,572 (±1,303)	5,783,331 (±22,650)	42,849,984

In Isla Vista, median gross rent is lower than in Santa Barbara County ($2,131).

It is also lower than in California ($2,036).

It is higher than the national figure ($1,413).

In Santa Barbara County, Isla Vista ranks 16 of 21 places with a published estimate, from highest to lowest median gross rent.

Statewide, it ranks 486 of 1,010.

Rankings use the estimates alone; where margins of error overlap, neighboring ranks may not truly differ.

How rent in Isla Vista has changed since 2015–2019

2015–2019 and 2020–2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates
	2015–2019	2020–2024	Amount of change	Verdict
Median gross rent	$1,503 (±$54)	$1,878 (±$95)	+25.0%	No measurable change after inflation
Households that rent	98.0% (±0.6 points)	98.8% (±0.7 points)	+0.8 percentage points	Not a measurable change
Rental vacancy rate	2.9% (±1.3 points)	2.9% (±2.1 points)	0.0 percentage points	Not a measurable change

The Census Bureau publishes 2015–2019 dollars in 2019 dollars and 2020–2024 dollars in 2024 dollars.

Prices (the CPI-U, US Bureau of Labor Statistics) rose 22.7% between 2019 and 2024, so a dollar figure’s verdict compares the two after raising the earlier one by that much, using the Census Bureau’s test for a difference.

The two periods do not overlap, as the Census Bureau recommends for 5-year estimates.

Median gross rent in places near Isla Vista

Nearest places with a published estimate, compared with Isla Vista
Place	Distance	Median gross rent	Compared with this place
Isla Vista	—	$1,878 (±$95)	—
University of California-Santa Barbara	0.9 mi	$1,526 (±$111)	Lower
Goleta	1.6 mi	$2,437 (±$120)	Higher
Eastern Goleta Valley	4.8 mi	$2,964 (±$327)	Higher
Santa Barbara	8.4 mi	$2,413 (±$62)	Higher
Mission Canyon	8.7 mi	$3,500 or more	—
Montecito	13 mi	$3,500 or more	—
Toro Canyon	17 mi	$2,179 (±$861)	Not measurably different
Santa Ynez	20 mi	$1,969 (±$1,359)	Not measurably different

Nearby places with a measurably lower figure: University of California-Santa Barbara, CA ($1,526).

Nearby places with a measurably higher figure: Goleta, CA ($2,437), Eastern Goleta Valley, CA ($2,964), Santa Barbara, CA ($2,413).

Distance is measured in a straight line between the Census Bureau’s internal points for each place.

Median gross rent across Santa Barbara County, place by place

Rank	Place	Median gross rent
10 (tie)	Buellton	$2,194 (±$104)
10 (tie)	Los Olivos	$2,194 (±$1,960)
12	Orcutt	$2,193 (±$128)
13	Toro Canyon	$2,179 (±$861)
14	Santa Ynez	$1,969 (±$1,359)
15	Santa Maria	$1,925 (±$50)
16	Isla Vista	$1,878 (±$95)
17	Mission Hills	$1,838 (±$130)
18	Guadalupe	$1,732 (±$110)
19	Solvang	$1,666 (±$199)
20	Lompoc	$1,589 (±$63)
21	University of California-Santa Barbara	$1,526 (±$111)

Showing 12 of 21 places in Santa Barbara County, ranked from highest to lowest.

Isla Vista is a census-designated place: an unincorporated community the Census Bureau draws for statistics, with no municipal government of its own.

Survey years: 2020–2024 (American Community Survey 5-year estimates), compared with 2015–2019.

Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level.

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Questions about Isla Vista

What is the average rent in Isla Vista, CA?

The Census Bureau publishes the median rather than the average: the median gross rent in Isla Vista is $1,878 (±$95) a month (2020–2024 American Community Survey), so half of renting households pay less and half pay more.

How much has rent gone up in Isla Vista?

In Isla Vista, the median gross rent went from $1,503 in 2015–2019 to $1,878 in 2020–2024 (+25.0%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years; the change is not measurably different from the rise in prices.

How many rentals in Isla Vista cost more than $2,000 a month?

42.5% of rented homes in Isla Vista have a gross rent of $2,000 or more a month, and 0.9% cost less than $500.

Is rent in Isla Vista higher than in Santa Barbara County?

In Isla Vista, median gross rent is lower than in Santa Barbara County ($2,131).

It is also lower than in California ($2,036).

It is higher than the national figure ($1,413).

Is this the rent for an apartment listed today?

No: these are rents households reported paying across 2020–2024, not asking rents for vacant homes, which usually run higher.

Sources

To check these figures in the Census Bureau’s own API, request the variables below from the 2024 ACS 5-year data profile (acs/acs5/profile) for Isla Vista CDP, California (place:36868, in state:06).

Each estimate (E or PE) has a margin of error beside it (M or PM).

The 2015–2019 figures are B25064_001E, B25064_001M, DP04_0047PE, DP04_0047PM, DP04_0005E, DP04_0005M from the 2019 release.

The API needs a free key.

Request a Census API key.

DP04_0134E, DP04_0134M, DP04_0126E, DP04_0126M, DP04_0127PE, DP04_0127PM, DP04_0128PE, DP04_0128PM, DP04_0129PE, DP04_0129PM, DP04_0130PE, DP04_0130PM, DP04_0131PE, DP04_0131PM, DP04_0132PE, DP04_0132PM, DP04_0133PE, DP04_0133PM

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are published by the US Census Bureau, HUD, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the FBI; Seayora reproduces them and does not adjust them, except where a sentence says it compares dollar figures after inflation. They describe the whole place, not any one building or street, and are not an appraisal, a rent determination, a tax bill, a safety rating or legal advice.