Santa Barbara, California Cost Of Living

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Overall 98%

Goods & Services 10%

Housing 286%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2019 and was released from C2ER in January, 2020; this is the most current data available.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Santa Barbara	California	National
Cost of living	198	140	100
Goods & Services	110	111	100
Groceries	110	118	100
Health care	107	113	100
Housing	386	196	100
Transportation	123	128	100
Utilities	146	118	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Santa Barbara is 41% higher than the California average
The cost of living in Santa Barbara is 98% higher than the national average
Santa Barbara housing is 286% higher than the national average
California general sales tax is 42% higher than the national average
California state income tax is 59% lower than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$106,129	$8,844	$2,476	$3,184
Renters	$50,526	$4,211	$1,179	$1,516

A good indicator of the general affordability of housing in Santa Barbara, CA, is the percentage of monthly income that should be spent on housing expenses, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Generally speaking, no more than 28 percent of your total gross income should be spent on your housing expenses and not more than 36 percent of your gross income on total expenses, including debts. In Santa Barbara, the median monthly income is $106,129 for those who own their own homes. Under the standard rule, that income level would allow for $2,476 to be budgeted for housing expenses each month, at the most. Renters, on the other hand, earn about $50,526, per the median income in the area. That would allow for renters to spend up to $1,179 on monthly rental expenses.

California Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
California	7.25%	10.5%

California Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
California	1%	13.3%

Goods & Services

Item	Santa Barbara	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$18.33	$17.49	4.8%
Beauty Salon	$83.33	$38.17	118.3%
Toothpaste	$3.55	$2.32	53.0%
Shampoo	$1.17	$1.01	15.6%
Movie	$11.72	$10.72	9.3%
Bowling	$11.67	$13.86	15.8%

Groceries

Item	Santa Barbara	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.06	$3.90	4.1%
Fried Chicken	$1.97	$1.40	41.1%
Milk	$2.14	$1.96	9.1%
Potatoes	$3.88	$3.18	21.9%
Pizza	$8.99	$10.39	13.5%
Beer	$9.48	$9.23	2.7%

Health Care

Item	Santa Barbara	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$108.00	$106.34	1.6%
Doctor	$121.25	$115.25	5.2%
Dentist	$108.33	$98.38	10.1%
Ibuprofen	$10.90	$9.26	17.7%
Lipitor	$483.33	$466.47	3.6%

Housing

Item	Santa Barbara	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$888,000.00	$184,700.00	380.8%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,214.38	$1,273.32	4.6%
Apartment Rent	$1,575.00	$949.00	66.0%

Transportation

Item	Santa Barbara	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.68	$2.59	42.0%
Tire Balancing	$46.67	$48.90	4.6%

Utilities

Item	Santa Barbara	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$312.56	$167.60	86.5%
Phone	$173.40	$163.42	6.1%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Isla Vista, CA	27,179	144	44%
Carpinteria, CA	13,553	166	66%
Goleta, CA	30,671	172	72%
Summerland, CA	1,146	211	111%
Mission Canyon, CA	2,769	212	112%
Santa Barbara, CA	90,922	198	98%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Plantation, FL	90,878	116	16%
Longmont, CO	90,719	107	7%
Sunrise, FL	91,177	101	1%
Redding, CA	91,320	115	15%
Germantown, MD	90,494	130	30%
Santa Barbara, CA	90,922	198	98%

Source: The Santa Barbara, CA cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2019.

Santa Barbara, CA Cost of Living

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