What is the median rent in Santa Barbara, CA?

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

The median gross rent in Santa Barbara, CA is $2,413 (±$62) a month, according to the US Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey.

That is across 21,311 rented homes; gross rent is the contract rent plus the utilities and fuels a renter pays separately.

In Santa Barbara, the median gross rent went from $1,786 in 2015–2019 to $2,413 in 2020–2024 (+35.1%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years, so it rose faster than prices: a measurable increase after inflation.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Median gross rent: $2,413 (±$62)
Rented homes: 21,311 (±788)
$2,000 or more: 69.4%
Since 2015–2019: +35.1%

How much rent costs in Santa Barbara

Share of rented homes in each gross-rent range, 2020–2024
Monthly gross rent	Santa Barbara	Santa Barbara County	California	United States
Less than $500	4.7% (±1.1 points)	3.3%	3.6%	6.3%
$500 to $999	3.4% (±0.8 points)	5.1%	7.2%	20.2%
$1,000 to $1,499	7.5% (±1.7 points)	13.5%	16.2%	28.1%
$1,500 to $1,999	15.0% (±1.9 points)	22.5%	21.5%	21.1%
$2,000 to $2,499	23.5% (±2.7 points)	21.5%	19.8%	12.0%
$2,500 to $2,999	15.7% (±2.4 points)	12.5%	12.5%	5.5%
$3,000 or more	30.2% (±2.4 points)	21.6%	19.1%	6.8%

The most common range is $3,000 or more, paid by 30.2% of renting households.

69.4% of rented homes in Santa Barbara cost $2,000 or more a month.

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

Estimate (90% margin of error)
	Santa Barbara	Santa Barbara County	California	United States
Median gross rent	$2,413 (±$62)	$2,131 (±$35)	$2,036 (±$5)	$1,413
Rented homes paying rent	21,311 (±788)	68,572 (±1,303)	5,783,331 (±22,650)	42,849,984

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

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

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

In Santa Barbara County, Santa Barbara ranks 7 of 21 places with a published estimate, from highest to lowest median gross rent.

Statewide, it ranks 230 of 1,010.

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

How rent in Santa Barbara 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	$1,786 (±$37)	$2,413 (±$62)	+35.1%	Up after inflation
Households that rent	59.3% (±1.4 points)	60.1% (±1.8 points)	+0.8 percentage points	Not a measurable change
Rental vacancy rate	1.7% (±0.8 points)	2.9% (±0.9 points)	+1.2 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 Santa Barbara

Nearest places with a published estimate, compared with Santa Barbara
Place	Distance	Median gross rent	Compared with this place
Santa Barbara	—	$2,413 (±$62)	—
Mission Canyon	3.6 mi	$3,500 or more	—
Montecito	4.7 mi	$3,500 or more	—
Eastern Goleta Valley	4.9 mi	$2,964 (±$327)	Higher
University of California-Santa Barbara	7.6 mi	$1,526 (±$111)	Lower
Isla Vista	8.4 mi	$1,878 (±$95)	Lower
Goleta	8.6 mi	$2,437 (±$120)	Not measurably different
Toro Canyon	8.8 mi	$2,179 (±$861)	Not measurably different
Carpinteria	12 mi	$2,377 (±$149)	Not measurably different

Nearby places with a measurably lower figure: University of California-Santa Barbara, CA ($1,526), Isla Vista, CA ($1,878).

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

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
1 (tie)	Mission Canyon	$3,500 or more
1 (tie)	Montecito	$3,500 or more
3	Eastern Goleta Valley	$2,964 (±$327)
4	Los Alamos	$2,882 (±$1,104)
5	Vandenberg AFB	$2,747 (±$100)
6	Goleta	$2,437 (±$120)
7	Santa Barbara	$2,413 (±$62)
8	Carpinteria	$2,377 (±$149)
9	Vandenberg Village	$2,313 (±$115)
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)

Showing 13 of 21 places in Santa Barbara County, ranked from highest to lowest.

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 Santa Barbara

What is the average rent in Santa Barbara, CA?

The Census Bureau publishes the median rather than the average: the median gross rent in Santa Barbara is $2,413 (±$62) 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 Santa Barbara?

In Santa Barbara, the median gross rent went from $1,786 in 2015–2019 to $2,413 in 2020–2024 (+35.1%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years, so it rose faster than prices: a measurable increase after inflation.

How many rentals in Santa Barbara cost more than $2,000 a month?

69.4% of rented homes in Santa Barbara have a gross rent of $2,000 or more a month, and 4.7% cost less than $500.

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

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

It is also higher 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 Santa Barbara city, California (place:69070, 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.