Best PlacesRiviera, Santa Barbara, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Riviera, Santa Barbara, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Riviera, Santa Barbara ranks 792nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on high incomes by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Riviera, Santa Barbara
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Riviera, Santa Barbara's strengths and weaknesses
Where Riviera, Santa Barbara ranks high
- Household income$178,073 median, better than 96% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 239 pleasant days a year, better than 93% of neighborhoods
- Short commute17.6 minutes each way, better than 91% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
Where Riviera, Santa Barbara ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,613 a month, better than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Riviera, Santa Barbara
A household needs to earn about $472,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Riviera, Santa Barbara home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $178,073, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Riviera, Santa Barbara's effective rate of 0.55%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Riviera, Santa Barbara
Riviera, Santa Barbara runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Riviera, Santa Barbara.
Who works in Riviera, Santa Barbara, and how
Work in Riviera, Santa Barbara centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 59%
- Work from home 27%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in Riviera, Santa Barbara
Riviera, Santa Barbara has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 78% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 3 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Riviera, Santa Barbara and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Riviera, Santa Barbara, month by month
Riviera, Santa Barbara sees roughly 239 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 75 degrees. January highs sit near 67, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67° | 54° | 41° |
| April | 71° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 75° | 65° | 57° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Riviera, Santa Barbara
The nearest airport, Santa Barbara Municipal, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bob Hope, about 77 miles away.
The best schools in and around Riviera, Santa Barbara
Schools across Riviera, Santa Barbara average a B, better than 75% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Cold Spring ElementaryA+ · 88% proficient
- Montecito UnionA+ · 80% proficient
- Cleveland ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Santa Barbara Junior HighB+ · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Riviera, Santa Barbara school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Riviera, Santa Barbara measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Riviera, Santa Barbara against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Riviera, Santa Barbara
Is Riviera, Santa Barbara a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Riviera, Santa Barbara ranks 792nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on high incomes, the weather, and short commutes, and lowest on cell coverage and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Riviera, Santa Barbara expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,870,322. The overall cost of living runs about 80% above the national average. Set against a $178,073 median income, cost of living beats 73% of neighborhoods.
Is Riviera, Santa Barbara safe?
Yes, Riviera, Santa Barbara is safer than 64% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $399 per resident a year.
Compare Riviera, Santa Barbara with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Riviera, Santa Barbara. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Riviera, Santa Barbara represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Riviera, Santa Barbara detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Riviera, Santa Barbara: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Riviera, Santa Barbara: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Riviera, Santa Barbara: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Riviera, Santa Barbara: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Riviera, Santa Barbara detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.