2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Santa Barbara, CA vs Murrieta, CA

Change Cities
Highlights
- Household income in Murrieta, is 10% more than it is in Santa Barbara and is 30% above the National Average.
- Santa Barbara unemployment rate is 4.1%.
- Murrieta unemployment rate is 6.0%.
 Santa Barbara, CAMurrieta, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock6.0%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock2.2%1.6%
 Future Job Growth28.2%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes8.8%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$54,426  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$98,466$69,021
 Family Median Income$118,228  Unlock$85,028
 space
 Est. Households By Income
 Santa Barbara, CAMurrieta, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock4.9%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K2.8%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock3.3%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K5.4%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock5.1%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K6.4%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock10.8%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K11.4%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock23.2%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K10.4%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock14.9%9.5%
 space1
 Population By Occupation
 Santa Barbara, CAMurrieta, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance19.8%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock6.0%6.5%
 Community, social services2.1%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock0.7%1.2%
 Education, library5.8%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.7%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock4.4%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement0.9%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock6.6%5.4%
 Building maintenance5.9%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.3%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support19.0%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.2%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair5.5%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock9.3%13.1%
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

   |    Reply

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

   |    Reply

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

   |    Reply

Start Your Review of Santa Barbara

Reviews for Murrieta    39 Reviews

Paul · 
Over 2 years ago

Very expensive to rent here. Many apartments in Murrieta charge as much as $2,300 for a single bedroom. But this is California, so maybe it’s cheaper than LA or Orange  More

   |    Reply

I moved here for my wife's job. It's a cookie cutter middle class community that costs 2-3 times as much as Texas. Homes aren't custom. They are tract homes on small  More

   |    Reply

George · 

A great place to live and raise a family. It’s a quintessential bedroom community. Very safe. Violent crime is a rarity here. Property crime is very low here too.  More

   |    Reply

Start Your Review of Murrieta


Premium Subscription
Includes Cost of Living compares for child care, utilities, transportation, health, taxes, housing for home owners vs renters, weather, insurance premiums and so much more.


The premier source for comprehensive city data for over 30 years.

© Best Places. All rights reserved.