Issue 5 - Year in Review
2024 was an eventful year for the United States, California, and Santa Barbara. From the Olympics in Paris to the presidential election in the US, there was a lot to keep up with. Here we take a look back at 2024 and some key economic indicators for Santa Barbara County.
Employment
In November 2024, the unemployment rate was 4.3% in Santa Barbara County (up 0.2 percentage points from November 2023). This compares to an unemployment rate of 5.3% in California (up 0.4 percentage points from November 2023) and 4% in the entire US (up 0.5 percentage points from November 2023).
Employment by Industry
An average of roughly 192,000 people were employed in the non-farm sector of Santa Barbara County in 2024. Total farm employment for the county was roughly 32,000. The non-farm industries that employed the most people in Santa Barbara County during 2024 were Government (35,882 employees), Private Education and Health Services (32,145 employees), Leisure and Hospitality (28,591 employees), Professional and Business Services (27,845 employees), and Retail Trade (18,564 employees).
In Santa Barbara County, the industries with the biggest percent changes in employment from 2023 were Information (-5%); Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities (-5%); Private Education and Health Services (+4%); Manufacturing (+3%); and Professional & Business Services (+2%).
Santa Barbara County
California
Home Prices
We use Zillow’s Home Value Index (ZHVI) to track home prices over time. The ZHVI is a measure of the typical home value and market changes across a given region and housing type. It reflects the typical value for homes in the 35th to 65th percentile range. We use ZHVI for all single-family residences, typical value for all single-family homes in a given region, for condo/coops, for all homes with 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5+ bedrooms. We use the smoothed, seasonally adjusted series.
Home Prices - Percent Change
As show in the graph above, home prices in Santa Barbara County continue to outpace those of California and the US. In Santa Barbara the ZHVI in December 2024 was almost $967,800. In all of California the ZHVI was just over $773,000, and in the US it was $365,500. The change in ZHVI from December 2023 to December 2024 was 3.4%, 3.2%, and %2.6 for Santa Barbara County, California, and the US, respectively, seen in the graph below.
Rental Prices
We use Zillow’s Observed Rental Index (ZORI) to track rental prices. ZORI is a repeat-rent index that is weighted to the rental housing stock to ensure representativeness across the entire market, not just those homes currently listed for rent. The index is dollar-denominated by computing the mean of listed rents that fall into the 35th to 65th percentile range for all homes and apartments in a given region, which is weighted to reflect the rental housing stock. We use the smoothed, seasonally adjusted series.
Rental Prices - Percent Change
Rental prices in Santa Barbara County have grown at a faster rate since the pandemic than those in Los Angeles (LA) County and the US. In Santa Barbara County the ZORI in December 2024 was $3,613 compared to $2,821 in LA County, and $1,964 in the US, as seen above. The percent change in ZORI from December 2023 to December 2024 was 4%, 3.4%, and %2.9 for Santa Barbara County, LA County, and the US, respectively, shown below.
Demographics
In 2024, Santa Barbara County had a larger share of its population in the ages between 15 and 24, compared to California and the country. This is unsurprising given the presence of the universities and colleges in the county. Almost 90,000 residents aged 24-39 left the county between January 2022 and December 2024. This trend is much more pronounced for the county than the state of California or the US as a whole. See the tables below for more details.
The most common Race/Ethnicity in the Santa Barbara county in 2024 was “White, Hispanic,” which comprised 44% of the county’s population. This group represents 36% of Californians and 17% of US residents. In Santa Barbara County, there was a 4% decrease in the number of people who reported being White, Non-Hispanics between 2022 and 2024. There was also a 4% decrease for this group for the state of California. The US saw a negligible change in this age group. See the tables below to explore more demographic changes.