2026 Compare Cities Economy:
Santa Barbara, CA vs Wilmington, NC

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Highlights
- Household income in Wilmington, is 39% less than it is in Santa Barbara and is 28% below the National Average.
- Santa Barbara unemployment rate is 4.1%.
- Wilmington unemployment rate is 4.3%.
 Santa Barbara, CAWilmington, NCUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock4.3%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock0.8%1.6%
 Future Job Growth28.2%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes8.8%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock5.3%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$54,426  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$54,066$69,021
 Family Median Income$118,228  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Santa Barbara, CAWilmington, NCUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock14.8%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K2.8%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock9.5%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K5.4%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock8.4%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K6.4%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock9.5%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K11.4%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock12.5%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K10.4%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock7.7%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Santa Barbara, CAWilmington, NCUnited States
 Management, business, finance19.8%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock5.5%6.5%
 Community, social services2.1%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.0%1.2%
 Education, library5.8%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.8%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock1.9%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement0.9%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock9.4%5.4%
 Building maintenance5.9%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.4%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support19.0%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.3%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair5.5%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock8.5%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

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Over 5 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 Wilmington    71 Reviews

I was born here and I will update more at a later time. First and most important, teh average cost of a 1br apt in Wilmington is approximately $1,800. Rentals have  More

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I think that a lot has changed since covid for this city and will continue to keep changing with our insane economy. But I was born and raised in Wilmington and have  More

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Scotty · 

Wilmington NC was once a wonderful city filled with Southern charm, history, safety and natural beauty. Recently that has been replaced by erasing everything Southern or  More

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