GroundworkOpen the map
MapPricingCaliforniaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaIllinoisIndianaNorth CarolinaOhioSouth CarolinaTennesseeAboutClaim your landMarket reportFAQSign in

Santa Barbara County growth

1,371 new homes permitted in 2025

Census Building Permits Survey, 2025

New homes permitted in Santa Barbara County

Housing units the county's permit offices authorized, by year, from the Census Bureau.

New housing units permitted in Santa Barbara County
PeriodNew homesIn single-family homes
Jan–Sep 20261,079403
Jan–Sep 2025937344
20251,371433
2024750481
2023471360
20221,096376
20211,152534
20201,027479
20191,175631
  • Sep 2026118
  • Aug 202694
  • Jul 2026222
  • Jun 2026259
  • May 2026127
  • Apr 202695
  • Mar 202639
  • Feb 202645
  • Jan 202644
  • Dec 202573
  • Nov 202532
  • Oct 202543

New homes permitted each month, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026

People in Santa Barbara County

  • Population442,065Census Population Estimates · July 1, 2025
  • Change since 2020−6,260 (−1.4%)July 1, 2020 to July 1, 2025 · Census Population Estimates
  • New homes per 1,000 residents3.12025 permits per 1,000 people on July 1, 2025 · Census
  • Median household income$98,1612020-2024 · Census ACS 5-year, ±$2,430

Jobs in Santa Barbara County

  • Jobs in the county214,947Annual average 2025, all industries, by place of work · BLS QCEW
  • Change since 2020+13,711 (+6.8%)2020 to 2025 annual averages · BLS QCEW
  • Average weekly wage$1,4052025, all industries · BLS QCEW

Home values in Santa Barbara County

Change in the price of homes sold or refinanced more than once (the FHFA repeat-sales index).

  • Home prices, 1 year+3%2024 to 2025 · FHFA House Price Index
  • Home prices, 5 years+56%2020 to 2025 · FHFA House Price Index

Land in Santa Barbara County

Our own figures from the county roll and the county's recorded sales.

  • Vacant land3,373 vacant-coded on the county rollCounty roll · Oct 11, 2026

Growth in nearby counties

Kern CountySan Luis Obispo CountyVentura County

More

California growth by countyThe data (CSV, JSON)Santa Barbara County overview

About these numbersSources, dates and how these figures are built

New homes

U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2019-01 to 2026-09; annual files 2019-2025, posted May 14, 2026; the monthly files through Sep 2026, posted Oct 27, 2026. New housing units authorized by building permits, reported plus imputed. A month is the figure in that month's file; a year is the annual file, which adds late and corrected reports, so twelve months need not add up to the year. Public domain.

People

U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025, July 1, 2020 to July 1, 2025, posted Mar 26, 2026. Public domain.

Income

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, 2020-2024 (2024 dollars), posted Jan 29, 2026. Median household income; printed at a coefficient of variation of 30% or less. Public domain.

Jobs

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2020-2025 annual averages, posted Aug 21, 2026. All industries, all ownerships, jobs covered by unemployment insurance; place of work. Public domain.

Home values

FHFA House Price Index (all-transactions), annual county and five-digit ZIP indexes, 2025, posted Mar 31, 2026. Public domain.

Land

Groundwork's map of the county roll and the county's own recorded sales: the same figures, gates and dates as the county page.

Data edition

Figures as of Oct 27, 2026. Area figures, not any one parcel's.