What is the median rent in Santa Maria, CA?

Name: Median rent in Santa Maria, 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 Maria, CA is $1,925 (±$50) a month, according to the US Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey.

That is across 14,298 rented homes; gross rent is the contract rent plus the utilities and fuels a renter pays separately.

In Santa Maria, the median gross rent went from $1,414 in 2015–2019 to $1,925 in 2020–2024 (+36.1%).

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: $1,925 (±$50)
Rented homes: 14,298 (±725)
$2,000 or more: 45.1%
Since 2015–2019: +36.1%

How much rent costs in Santa Maria

Share of rented homes in each gross-rent range, 2020–2024
Monthly gross rent	Santa Maria	Santa Barbara County	California	United States
Less than $500	2.9% (±1.0 points)	3.3%	3.6%	6.3%
$500 to $999	5.2% (±1.5 points)	5.1%	7.2%	20.2%
$1,000 to $1,499	14.8% (±2.3 points)	13.5%	16.2%	28.1%
$1,500 to $1,999	32.0% (±3.5 points)	22.5%	21.5%	21.1%
$2,000 to $2,499	25.0% (±3.1 points)	21.5%	19.8%	12.0%
$2,500 to $2,999	11.2% (±2.4 points)	12.5%	12.5%	5.5%
$3,000 or more	8.9% (±1.9 points)	21.6%	19.1%	6.8%

The most common range is $1,500 to $1,999, paid by 32.0% of renting households.

45.1% of rented homes in Santa Maria cost $2,000 or more a month.

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

Estimate (90% margin of error)
	Santa Maria	Santa Barbara County	California	United States
Median gross rent	$1,925 (±$50)	$2,131 (±$35)	$2,036 (±$5)	$1,413
Rented homes paying rent	14,298 (±725)	68,572 (±1,303)	5,783,331 (±22,650)	42,849,984

In Santa Maria, 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, Santa Maria ranks 15 of 21 places with a published estimate, from highest to lowest median gross rent.

Statewide, it ranks 456 of 1,010.

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

How rent in Santa Maria 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	$1,414 (±$39)	$1,925 (±$50)	+36.1%	Up after inflation
Households that rent	50.3% (±2.1 points)	49.8% (±2.1 points)	−0.5 percentage points	Not a measurable change
Rental vacancy rate	2.3% (±1.2 points)	3.1% (±1.5 points)	+0.8 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 Maria

Nearest places with a published estimate, compared with Santa Maria
Place	Distance	Median gross rent	Compared with this place
Santa Maria	—	$1,925 (±$50)	—
Orcutt	4.6 mi	$2,193 (±$128)	Higher
Nipomo	7.4 mi	$2,106 (±$167)	Higher
Guadalupe	7.7 mi	$1,732 (±$110)	Lower
Callender	11 mi	$2,540 (±$403)	Higher
Vandenberg AFB	15 mi	$2,747 (±$100)	Higher
Oceano	15 mi	$1,584 (±$628)	Not measurably different
Vandenberg Village	15 mi	$2,313 (±$115)	Higher
Arroyo Grande	15 mi	$2,173 (±$169)	Higher

Nearby places with a measurably lower figure: Guadalupe, CA ($1,732).

Nearby places with a measurably higher figure: Orcutt, CA ($2,193), Nipomo, CA ($2,106), Callender, CA ($2,540).

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
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)
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 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 Maria

What is the average rent in Santa Maria, CA?

The Census Bureau publishes the median rather than the average: the median gross rent in Santa Maria is $1,925 (±$50) 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 Maria?

In Santa Maria, the median gross rent went from $1,414 in 2015–2019 to $1,925 in 2020–2024 (+36.1%).

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 Maria cost more than $2,000 a month?

45.1% of rented homes in Santa Maria have a gross rent of $2,000 or more a month, and 2.9% cost less than $500.

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

In Santa Maria, 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 Santa Maria city, California (place:69196, 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.