Half of all renters in Santa Barbara County are rent-burdened, and another 25% are severely rent-burdened, according to an updated housing data dashboard by the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments.
Homeowners, by contrast, have it a little easier financially. About 28% are considered cost-burdened, while only 12.7% are considered severely cost-burdened, according to the dashboard.
Cost-burdened is when a person spends more than 30% of their income on housing, and severely cost-burdened is when a person spends more than 50% of their income.
The dashboard shows where housing is being built, how affordable it is, who lives in the region and how people commute to work. It also provides information on homelessness trends and workforce characteristics.
The interactive platform visualizes housing development, affordability, availability and demographic trends.
The data breaks down a variety of information and reveal some common fault lines. The housing shortage is real, and government has been slow to meet regional housing needs as directed by the State of California.
The data also shows that countywide, about 9% of rental units are overcrowded, and another 6.5% are severely overcrowded. About 31% of the rental units in Santa Maria are overcrowded, and another 15.4% are considered severely overcrowded.
Overcrowded is defined as more than one person in each bedroom.
In Guadalupe, about 47.4% of rental units are overcrowded, and 10.8% are severely overcrowded. In Santa Barbara, 10.9% of units are overcrowded, and 5.2% are severely overcrowded. In Goleta, the percentage of overcrowded units is about 13.8%, and severely overcrowded is 5.8%.
In the unincorporated area of Montecito, 1.8% of the units are considered overcrowded, and there are zero units considered severely overcrowded, according to the dashboard.
The affluent town has about 56% of its rental stock available for “seasonal, recreational or other use,” according to the dashboard. Another 24% are classified as units that are “not occupied and do not fall into standard vacancy classifications. These units could be held for personal reasons, undergoing repairs, in the process of foreclosure, or abandoned.”
About 33% of Santa Barbara’s vacant units are for “seasonal, recreational or other use.” About 28% are considered “not occupied and do not fall into standard vacancy classifications. These units could be held for personal reasons, undergoing repairs, in the process of foreclosure, or abandoned.”
The dashboard reveals the number of units that were built in the first year of the Regional Housing Needs Assessment, for all income levels. During the past few years, the state has passed a variety of legislation designed to make it easier for developers to get their projects approved.
However, in the categories intended for “affordable housing,” Santa Barbara County is off to a slow start.
The RHNA allocation states that developers should build 5,799 very-low-income units by 2031. In the first year of RHNA, the county approved 41. It has approved 473 low-income units, out of 3,935 required. Of the 4,397 units required for moderate-income renters, only 60 had been approved in 2023. About 395 above-moderate units were approved.
“I’m frustrated by these numbers, but soon they will improve,” Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors chair Laura Capps. “There’s no higher priority for our county than affordable housing. The lack of it impacts every aspect of our community.”
Capps said developers need to follow through on their commitments to build — and prioritize affordable housing.
She said that in a few weeks, the county Housing Authority will break ground on the largest affordable housing project in county history with 236 units on Hollister Avenue.
“My initiative to utilize county land for affordable housing means we can do it so much faster, beginning with 300 units,” Capps said. “I believe all government sectors need to turn some of their underutilized land into affordable housing. For one thing, it has the potential to get done faster.”
Jarret Gorin, a land use consultant who works with developers, said he has not seen a radical commitment toward housing development on the part of local government.
“The state laws have helped because they have removed some obstacles,” Gorin said. “I am not seeing local government work to expedite the housing process.”
Gorin said cities are understaffed, which contributes to the slowdown. He added that the effort to include below-market-rate units slows down housing construction overall.
“Inclusionary housing takes projects that are already difficult and makes them harder,” Gorin said. “The cost to build a low-income unit is the same as the cost to build a market-rate unit, but the rents are the same. The market-rate units have to subside the rental units.”
The housing dashboard is available here.
“Instead of searching through multiple state and federal reports, the dashboard makes annual housing and demographic data easy to access in one place,” said Mia Lewis, transportation planner for SBCAG. “The transparency of the information is helpful for residents and decision-makers working on housing solutions.”
The data comes from the California Department of Housing and Community Development, the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and local homelessness counts.
SBCAG also conducted its own calculations to align data with local planning needs. It originated as a project by the League of Women Voters of Santa Barbara.
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