Santa Barbara County
Explore the Greater Santa Maria metro →
- Population
- 443,701
- Area
- 2,733.94 sq mi (7,080.86 km²), 1,053.76 sq mi water
- Median age
- 34.6
- Households
- 149,608
- Persons per household
- 2.8
- Median household income
- $98,161
- Median house value
- $790,700
Demographics: 2020–2024 ACS
Cities & Towns in Santa Barbara County
Local News
Santa Maria Sun
Published October 01Laurie Tamura is the Santa Maria Valley Chamber’s Citizen of the Year
Chamber cheersNext year’s gala is scheduled for Aug. 27. To register or become a sponsor, visit santamaria.com. Submit nominations for the 2027 awards online at santamaria.com/connecting/annual-awards. For the more than four decades that Laurie Tamura has lived in the Santa Maria…
Santa Maria Sun
Published October 01The Creation Station in Buellton celebrates 25 years
Cozy slippers shuffling across tile flooring. Pillows cushioning the seats of chairs. A T-shirt reading: Sorry. Can’t. Quilting. Bye. It’s the sight that Linda Papenfus rolled up to at The Creation Station Fabric and Quilt Shop after a tiresome, traffic-riddled drive from Folsom.…
Santa Maria Sun
Published October 01Unfinished business: Stalled hotel construction in Solvang remains inactive amid yearlong litigation
More than a year after Solvang red-tagged his unfinished hotel, Ed St. George said he has no intention of raising a white flag over the dormant development. “We’re already 90 percent done. If we were 40 percent done, I would be willing to tear it down. But we are literally 90…
Santa Maria Sun
Published October 01Solvang Teamsters strike moves into third week
Two weeks into the first city employee strike in Solvang’s history, labor negotiators met in closed session with the City Council on Sept. 28. The following morning, Solvang’s unionized members of Teamsters Local 986 made good on their word to remain on strike until the city…
Santa Maria Sun
Published October 01Despite parking concerns, Guadalupe City Council unanimously approves new housing
Builders got a green light to put up seven new apartments with eight parking spots on an empty lot in Guadalupe. On Sept. 22, City Council members approved the affordable housing project at 855 Pioneer St., which was proposed by the Housing Authority of Santa Barbara County.…