Santa Barbara County

Santa Barbara County, California — key demographics

Population size

• 2023 estimate (ACS 1-year): 451,700
• 2020 Census: 448,229

Age

• Median age: ~35
• Under 18: ~22.5%
• 18–24: ~11.5%
• 25–44: ~27.5%
• 45–64: ~23%
• 65+: ~15%

Gender

• Male: ~50.5%
• Female: ~49.5%

Racial/ethnic composition (Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity across races)

• Hispanic/Latino (any race): ~47–48%
• White, non-Hispanic: ~41–42%
• Asian, non-Hispanic: ~5%
• Black/African American, non-Hispanic: ~2%
• Two or more races, non-Hispanic: ~2–3%
• American Indian/Alaska Native, non-Hispanic: ~1%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic: ~0.3%

Household data

• Households: ~150,000
• Average household size: ~2.9
• Family households: ~66% of households
• Average family size: ~3.4
• Households with children under 18: ~32%
• Tenure: ~54% owner-occupied, ~46% renter-occupied

Insights

• Majority-minority county with nearly half of residents identifying as Hispanic/Latino
• Relatively young population profile driven by large 25–44 and college-age cohorts
• High renter share compared with many California counties

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey (1-year) and 2020 Decennial Census.

• Estimated email users: ~345,000 residents (ages 13+) in Santa Barbara County use email regularly. This equals ~76% of total population and ~94% of adults (18+), consistent with Pew’s 92% adult email adoption and the county’s age mix influenced by UCSB and SBCC.

• Age distribution (estimated adoption): 18–29: ~98%; 30–49: ~96%; 50–64: ~92%; 65+: ~85%. Seniors lag slightly but remain majority users.

• Gender split: Near parity. Given the county’s roughly even sex distribution, email users are approximately 50% male and 50% female.

• Digital access: According to the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 2018–2022), 94–95% of Santa Barbara County households have a computer/smartphone and ~91% have a broadband internet subscription. Mobile access further lifts email reach beyond in-home broadband.

• Density/connectivity facts: Population density is roughly 160–170 people per square mile, with the highest connectivity along the US‑101 corridor (Santa Barbara–Goleta–Carpinteria and Santa Maria–Orcutt). Rural areas such as the Gaviota Coast and Cuyama Valley have fewer fixed-broadband options, which can dampen email engagement but are partly offset by cellular data coverage.

Overall: Email is effectively universal among working-age residents and students, with modest gaps among the oldest and most rural households.

Mobile phone usage in Santa Barbara County, CA — summary with county-specific figures and how they differ from statewide patterns

Baseline size

• Population: ~450,000 residents; ~150,000 households (ACS 2023).
• Adult smartphone users: ~315,000–330,000 (roughly 90–92% of adults), plus ~30,000 teen users. Total smartphone users are on the order of 345,000–360,000 countywide.

Adoption and access (household-level, ACS 2023–2024 estimates)

• Any internet at home: ~92% of households (on par with California).
• Fixed broadband (cable, fiber, or DSL): ~79% of households, a few points below California’s ~83–85%.
• Cellular data plan at home (smartphone or hotspot): ~80% of households, similar to California.
• Mobile-only (cellular data plan with no fixed broadband): 18% of households, higher than the California average (13–15%). That equates to roughly 27,000 households relying on mobile service as their primary or sole home internet.

Demographic breakdown (county patterns; ACS microdata and Pew adoption patterns applied to county composition)

• Hispanic/Latino households (≈47% of county residents): higher reliance on mobile-only internet, ~24% vs ~11% among non-Hispanic White households. This gap is wider than the statewide gap due to Santa Barbara’s large north-county agricultural workforce and renter share.
• Income: households under $50k show ~30% mobile-only vs ~8% for $100k+. This income gradient is steeper in Santa Barbara than statewide because fixed broadband availability and price pressure intersect with rural geographies (Cuyama, parts of Santa Ynez, outskirts of Lompoc/Guadalupe).
• Housing tenure: renters ~22% mobile-only vs homeowners ~12%; renter share is elevated in Isla Vista/Goleta and Santa Maria, amplifying mobile-only reliance relative to California overall.
• Age: smartphone adoption is near-universal among 18–49 (≈95–97%), ~90% among 50–64, and ~80% among 65+. Santa Barbara skews slightly older in south-county coastal tracts, but student-heavy Isla Vista/Goleta pushes youth smartphone usage above the state average locally.

Usage patterns that diverge from the state

• Higher mobile-only reliance: Santa Barbara is roughly 3–5 percentage points above the California average, concentrated in Santa Maria, Guadalupe, and select rural tracts. This translates into heavier dependence on unlimited mobile plans for school, work, and telehealth than in most urban California counties.
• Split market: South County (Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria) behaves like dense coastal California with strong 5G and high device penetration, while North County (Santa Maria Valley, Lompoc, Cuyama) shows more rural gaps and price-driven mobile substitution. That intra-county disparity is sharper than the typical statewide urban–suburban contrast.
• Student and seasonal surges: UCSB/Isla Vista and tourism corridors drive predictable evening and weekend peaks; mobile traffic seasonality is more pronounced than state averages because of the academic calendar and festivals (e.g., Fiesta).

Digital infrastructure and coverage

• 5G footprint: Mid-band 5G (T-Mobile 2.5 GHz; AT&T/Verizon C-band) is continuous along US‑101 from Carpinteria through Goleta and across Santa Maria, with dense small-cell clusters downtown Santa Barbara/State Street, UCSB/Isla Vista, and central Santa Maria. mmWave is limited to a handful of urban nodes; far less dense than Los Angeles or the Bay Area.
• Rural gaps: Persistent weak or no signal areas along the Gaviota Coast and Refugio, interior canyons and parklands in the Santa Ynez Mountains/Los Padres National Forest, the Cuyama Valley, and parts of Vandenberg-adjacent hills. These terrain-driven gaps are more pronounced than the California average.
• Backhaul and towers: Macro sites concentrate along the 101/154 corridors and on ridge tops (e.g., Broadcast Peak, Santa Ynez Peak, La Cumbre) with a mix of microwave and fiber backhaul; inland fiber scarcity still constrains capacity north and east of the Santa Ynez range relative to coastal tracts.
• Public safety and resilience: FirstNet Band 14 overlays many macro sites countywide, improving coverage along 101/154 and in the Santa Maria Valley. Backup power and hardening have improved since the 2017–2018 fire/debris flow events, but power shutoffs and wildfires still create temporary mobile outages in mountainous and backcountry zones more often than typical California urban counties.

Plan and device mix

• Above-average prepaid and multilingual usage in north-county communities (agriculture and service sectors) and among students in Isla Vista. Heavy use of messaging apps (e.g., WhatsApp) and hotspotting aligns with the county’s higher mobile-only share.
• Device penetration of 5G handsets is high in the south-coast urban cluster; hotspot devices and tablet plans are more common in mobile-only households countywide.

Key takeaways

• Expect roughly 345,000–360,000 smartphone users in Santa Barbara County, with about 27,000 households relying solely on mobile service at home.
• Compared with California overall, Santa Barbara has:
  • Lower fixed-broadband adoption by several points.
  • Higher mobile-only reliance by several points, especially among Latino, renter, and lower-income households.
  • More severe terrain-related coverage gaps and a two-speed market split between south-coast urban areas and rural north/east tracts.
• Continued 5G mid-band buildout and new middle-mile/fiber routes inland will have outsized impact on reducing the county’s mobile-only dependence and improving equitable access relative to statewide averages.

Social media usage in Santa Barbara County, CA (2024)

Baseline

• Population: ≈450,000 residents; ≈355,000 adults (18+)
• Demographics shaping usage: ≈47% Hispanic/Latino; large student population (UCSB, SBCC); mix of urban/suburban (Santa Barbara, Goleta) and agricultural communities (Santa Maria, Lompoc)

Most-used platforms among adults (estimated share of adults; counts are approximate; benchmarks from Pew Research Center 2024, with local adjustment noted for WhatsApp)

• YouTube: ≈83% (~295k adults)
• Facebook: ≈68% (~241k)
• Instagram: ≈47% (~167k)
• Pinterest: ≈35% (~124k)
• WhatsApp: ≈34% (~121k; higher than US average given the county’s large Hispanic/Latino population)
• TikTok: ≈33% (~117k)
• LinkedIn: ≈30% (~107k)
• Snapchat: ≈27% (~96k)
• Reddit: ≈22% (~78k)
• X (Twitter): ≈22% (~78k)
• Nextdoor: ≈20% (~71k)

Age-group patterns

• 18–29: YouTube is near-universal; Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok dominate day-to-day sharing and campus life (UCSB/Isla Vista, SBCC). Events, nightlife, and cause-related content spread via Stories/Reels and group DMs.
• 30–49: Facebook and YouTube lead; Instagram and TikTok are strong for parenting, local activities, and dining. LinkedIn usage notable among tech/defense/biotech workers in Goleta and professionals countywide.
• 50–64: Facebook and YouTube remain primary; Nextdoor rises for neighborhood watch, local services, and school updates.
• 65+: Facebook and YouTube are the mainstays; lower adoption of TikTok/Snapchat; strong engagement with local news pages and community groups.

Gender breakdown

• Overall social media use is broadly balanced by gender.
• Platform skews mirror national patterns: Pinterest is strongly female-skewed (roughly 3:1 women to men); Reddit and X skew male; Snapchat and Instagram skew slightly female; LinkedIn is close to gender balanced.

Behavioral trends

• Bilingual communication: Spanish-language Facebook Groups and WhatsApp are central for family, school, and community coordination, especially in North County (Santa Maria, Lompoc).
• Public information: During wildfires, storms, and road closures, county/city agencies and news outlets rely on Facebook, X, and Nextdoor for rapid updates; residents cross-share into local groups.
• Discovery and commerce: Tourism, wineries, outdoor recreation, and dining lean on Instagram Reels/TikTok for visual discovery; local creators and hospitality accounts drive foot traffic and bookings.
• Messaging shift: Growing reliance on Instagram DMs and WhatsApp groups for organizing student life, small business transactions, and local events; fewer public posts, more private/share-by-link behavior.
• Civic and nonprofit engagement: Facebook Groups and Instagram remain key for fundraisers, volunteer drives, and cultural events; LinkedIn used for recruiting and partnership outreach.

Sources: Pew Research Center, Social Media Use in 2024 (platform adoption by US adults); U.S. Census Bureau/ACS (population and demographic composition). Local percentages are estimated by applying these benchmarks to Santa Barbara County’s adult population and demographic mix.