2025 Compare Cities Job Market:
Santa Barbara, CA vs Lake Forest, CA

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Highlights
- Job Growth in Lake Forest has been positive.
- Lake Forest has 1.5% less unemployment than Santa Barbara.
- Lake Forest job growth has increased by 7.2% in the past 10 years.
 Santa Barbara, CALake Forest, CAUnited States
 Current Unemployment  Unlock5.6%6.0%
 Future Job Growth28.2%  Unlock33.5%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock-9.6%-6.2%
 3 Yr. Job Growth-2.9%  Unlock-3.6%
 5 Yr. Job Growth  Unlock-3.1%-0.7%
 10 Yr. Job Growth2.7%  Unlock6.3%
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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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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