2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Lake Forest, CA vs Santa Barbara, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Santa Barbara, is 24% less than it is in Lake Forest and is 23% above the National Average.
- Lake Forest unemployment rate is 5.6%.
- Santa Barbara unemployment rate is 4.1%.
 Lake Forest, CASanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock4.1%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock0.8%1.6%
 Future Job Growth34.8%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes7.8%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$51,276  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$89,243$69,021
 Family Median Income$137,776  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Lake Forest, CASanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock8.4%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K1.4%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock4.4%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K5.2%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock7.3%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K5.4%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock7.9%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K12.5%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock16.1%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K15.2%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock19.6%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Lake Forest, CASanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance25.6%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock8.7%6.5%
 Community, social services1.6%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.3%1.2%
 Education, library5.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock3.3%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology4.4%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.7%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.3%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock8.3%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.5%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.2%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support20.9%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.7%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair4.3%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock6.7%13.1%
Reviews for Lake Forest    16 Reviews

I've lived in Lake Forest for over a decade, before that elsewhere in OC and also up in LA. Lake Forest isn't perfect but it's really improved over the past decade,  More

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As a retired senior who has lived in Lake Forest (formerly El Toro) since 1977 I think LF is a great place if you can afford it. When we moved here in June '77 homes  More

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I’ve lived here for 2 years. Ok, it’s more like a 4 but there are so many idiots downplaying what it’s like here and giving Lake Forest ones and twos. There are a lot of  More

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Reviews for Santa Barbara    51 Reviews

I moved to Santa Barbara around 23 years ago to study at Brooks, which like most of the Santa Barbara that I knew—has been destroyed. Homelessness, drugs, gangs, high  More

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Over 4 years ago

I fell in love with Santa Barbara about thirty years ago and finally moved here a few years ago. Because of the price of homes, it is an expensive place to live. The  More

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If you like high crime, paying a $4,500 a month mortgage and crazy high taxes, this is the place for you. It’s too bad because it wasn’t always like this. When I moved  More

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