2025 Compare Cities Job Market:
Santa Maria, CA vs Santa Barbara, CA

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Highlights
- Job Growth in Santa Barbara has been positive.
- Santa Barbara has 7.5% more unemployment than Santa Maria.
- Santa Barbara job growth has increased by 2.7% in the past 10 years.
 Santa Maria, CASanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Current Unemployment  Unlock4.1%6.0%
 Future Job Growth24.9%  Unlock33.5%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock-6.5%-6.2%
 3 Yr. Job Growth-1.9%  Unlock-3.6%
 5 Yr. Job Growth  Unlock-3.5%-0.7%
 10 Yr. Job Growth7.1%  Unlock6.3%
Reviews for Santa Maria    12 Reviews

Over 6 years ago

I live in Orcutt which is a town of around 35,000 on the south side of Santa Maria. Santa Maria has, as everyone has noted, the best climate in the world. It never  More

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I have lived in Santa Maria / Orcutt for several years, but it is time to leave. I have no issues with the weather. Our climate is mild and comfortable with no extremes.  More

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The weather is very mild without a huge temperature change with the seasons. The winters are chilly but not cold and the summers are warm but not hot. Of course there  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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