Santa Barbara County, California

For the city, see Santa Barbara, California. For the island, see Santa Barbara Island. For the wine region, see Santa Barbara County wine.

Santa Barbara County
County
County of Santa Barbara
Images, from top down, left to right: The Santa Barbara County Courthouse; Lake Cachuma; Vandenberg Space Force Base's main gate; along Foxen Canyon Road, running between the Santa Maria and Santa Ynez Valleys; Danish-styled Solvang
Flag of Santa Barbara County
Flag
Official seal of Santa Barbara County
Seal
Map
Interactive map of Santa Barbara County
Location in the state of California
Location in the state of California
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
RegionCalifornia Central Coast
IncorporatedFebruary 18, 1850[1]
Named forThe city of Santa Barbara, which was named for Saint Barbara
County seatSanta Barbara
Largest citySanta Maria (population)
Santa Barbara (area)
Government
 • TypeCouncil–CEO
 • BodyBoard of Supervisors [2][3][4][5][6]
 • Chair [7]Steve Lavagnino (N.P.)
 • Vice Chair [8]Laura Capps (N.P.)
 • Board of Supervisors[9]
Supervisors
 • County executive officer[10]Mona Miyasato
Area
 • Total3,789 sq mi (9,810 km2)
 • Land2,735 sq mi (7,080 km2)
 • Water1,054 sq mi (2,730 km2)
Highest elevation
[11]
6,803 ft (2,074 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total448,229
 • Density163/sq mi (63/km2)
GDP
[12]
 • Total$36.081 billion (2022)
Time zoneUTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time)
Area code(s)661, 805/820
Congressional district24th
Websitecountyofsb.org

Santa Barbara County, officially the County of Santa Barbara (Spanish: Condado de Santa Bárbara), is a county located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229.[13] The county seat is Santa Barbara,[14] and the largest city is Santa Maria.

Santa Barbara County comprises the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Most of the county is part of the California Central Coast.[15] Mainstays of the county's economy include engineering, resource extraction (particularly petroleum extraction and diatomaceous earth mining), winemaking, agriculture, and education. The software development and tourism industries are important employers in the southern part of the county.

Southern Santa Barbara County is sometimes considered the cultural boundary of Southern California/Northern California.[16]

  1. ^ "Chronology". California State Association of Counties. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  2. ^ "Das Williams, Supervisor, District 1 from Santa Barbara County, California". Archived from the original on October 13, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  3. ^ "Gregg Hart, Supervisor, District 2 from Santa Barbara County, California". Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  4. ^ "Joan Hartmann, Supervisor, District 3 from Santa Barbara County, California". Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  5. ^ "Bob Nelson, Supervisor, District 4 from Santa Barbara County, California". Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  6. ^ "Steve Lavagnino, Supervisor, District 5 from Santa Barbara County, California". Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  7. ^ "Fifth District | Santa Barbara County, CA - Official Website".
  8. ^ "Second District | Santa Barbara County, CA - Official Website".
  9. ^ "Board of Supervisors | Santa Barbara County, CA - Official Website".
  10. ^ "Executive and Administrative Team | Santa Barbara County, CA - Official Website". Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  11. ^ "Big Pine Mountain". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  12. ^ "Total Gross Domestic Product for Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA". Federal Reserve Economic Data. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
  13. ^ "Santa Barbara County, California". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  14. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  15. ^ "Central Coast". California State Parks. California Department of Recreation. Archived from the original on July 21, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  16. ^ Leilah Bernstein, "Then and Now" - Los Angeles Times, December 31, 1999, page 1