Should I Move To
Roughly 88,640 people live in Santa Barbara, California. Living here costs expensive relative to the rest of the country, 28% above the national average. Median rent runs about $2,209/mo; the typical household pulls in $98,346. On the UrbRank Score it pulls a 47/100 — a D, putting it at #607 nationally.
UrbRank Score · General
Each dimension scored 0-100 against every other US city.
Based on overall cost of living vs. other US cities.
Inverse of violent + property crime rate per 100,000 residents.
Temperate summers & winters, moderate precipitation.
Walk Score — how feasible daily errands are on foot.
Unemployment rate plus household income vs. national median.
Air quality index (EPA AQS data).
Share of residents 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.
By the composite index, Santa Barbara sits at 128 — expensive when stacked against the rest of the country. Running the rent-to-income math ($2,209/mo against $98,346 median household income), housing eats roughly 27% of a typical paycheck — right inside the standard 30%-of-income guideline. Buying-side, the median home value is $1,346,800.
Full cost-of-living breakdown →The weather here is mild: roughly 77°F in summer, 45°F in winter. Annual precipitation lands near 12 inches. Built around the car — walking isn't really an option for daily life. Crime rates land roughly average for a US city of this size. Air quality reads good (AQI 37).
Verdict by lifestyle profile — same data, different priorities.
For families, Santa Barbara isn't the strongest match. It earns 45/100 (grade D) on the families profile. Strongest on education (80/100); weakest on affordability (12/100).
For retirees, Santa Barbara isn't the strongest match. It earns 36/100 (grade F) on the retirees profile. Strongest on education (80/100); weakest on affordability (12/100).
For remote workers, Santa Barbara isn't the strongest match. It earns 35/100 (grade F) on the remote workers profile. Strongest on education (80/100); weakest on affordability (12/100).
For young professionals, Santa Barbara isn't the strongest match. It earns 42/100 (grade D) on the young professionals profile. Strongest on education (80/100); weakest on affordability (12/100).
Santa Barbara, California pulls a 47/100 overall on the UrbRank Score (grade D), currently ranked #607 nationally. The composite weights seven lifestyle dimensions: affordability, safety, climate, walkability, jobs, environment, and education.
Santa Barbara's cost-of-living index is 128 (with 100 as the US average), which lands in the expensive band — 28% above the national average. Median rent runs about $2,209/mo.
Mild — summer averages around 77°F, winter averages around 45°F, with about 12 inches of precipitation a year.
Walk Score: 14/100. Built around the car — walking isn't really an option for daily life.
Santa Barbara has about 88,640 residents, 51% of adults 25+ holding a bachelor's degree or higher with a median age of 40.
Use UrbRank's comparison tool to put Santa Barbara head-to-head against any other US city — housing, salaries, demographics, and quality-of-life metrics side by side. The leaderboard pages also show how Santa Barbara stacks up for families, retirees, remote workers, and young professionals specifically.
Every US city is scored 0-100 on seven dimensions using public data from the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI Crime Data Explorer, EPA Air Quality System, NOAA NCEI, and Walk Score. Each dimension is a percentile rank against every other city — so a score of 80 means the city is in the top 20% nationally on that dimension.
The overall score is a weighted average. Five lifestyle profiles — general, families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals — weight the dimensions differently to reflect what each cares about. Families get more weight on safety and schools; young professionals get more weight on jobs and walkability; retirees get more weight on climate.
Compare Santa Barbara with other California cities scored on UrbRank.
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