Race, Diversity, and Ethnicity in Santa Barbara County, CA

The map below shows majority race by area in Santa Barbara County, as self-identified on the US census. Darker shades indicate a larger racial majority in that neighborhood. This page also contains data and maps on Santa Barbara County racial diversity and diversity scores. Click here to scroll to diversity data.

Santa Barbara County, CA map of race and ethnicity
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White
Hispanic
Black
Asian
Multiple/Other
WhiteHispanicBlackAsianMultiple/Other
Majority race by area

The majority race in Santa Barbara County overall is hispanic, making up 48.9% of residents. The next most-common racial group is white at 40.1%. There are more hispanic people in the northwest areas of the county. People who identify as white are most likely to be living in the east places. The data below shows how many people identify themselves as each of the following races, which most Americans base on their family's national origin:

Race in Santa Barbara County

 
Self-Identified Race
Santa Barbara County, CA Population
White
40.1%
Hispanic
48.9%
Black
1.5%
Asian
5.1%
Native American
0.2%
Other
4.2%
   

Diversity and Diversity Scores for Santa Barbara County, CA

The map below shows diversity in Santa Barbara County. Areas in green are more diverse, while areas in red are much less diverse. Diversity, in this case, means a mixture of people with different race and ethnicity living close to one another. For example, all-black and all-white areas in the county would both be considered lacking diversity.

Santa Barbara County, CA map of race and ethnicity
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Colorblind friendly off

Santa Barbara County Diversity Score

59.5

More diverse than 91% of US counties

Santa Barbara County has a diversity score of 59.5: the chance, in percent, that two residents picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups, from ACS race counts. A place where everyone shares one group scores 0, and an even mix of the six groups in the chart above scores the maximum, 83.3. Santa Barbara County is much more diverse than other US counties, more diverse than 91% of them. Within Santa Barbara County's proper boundaries, the most diverse area is south Santa Barbara County, and the least diverse areas are in northwest Santa Barbara County.

Source: BestNeighborhood calculations from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2020-2024 5-year estimates (race and Hispanic origin); proprietary data mapping and analysis. Special thanks to the University of Virginia.

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