2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Tacoma, WA vs Santa Barbara, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Santa Barbara, is 28% more than it is in Tacoma and is 23% above the National Average.
- Tacoma unemployment rate is 7.3%.
- Santa Barbara unemployment rate is 4.1%.
 Tacoma, WASanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock4.1%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock0.8%1.6%
 Future Job Growth39.9%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes10.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$37,263  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$89,243$69,021
 Family Median Income$87,128  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Tacoma, WASanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock8.4%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K3.3%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock4.4%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K6.9%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock7.3%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K8.7%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock7.9%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K13.5%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock16.1%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K8.3%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock19.6%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Tacoma, WASanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance14.3%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock8.7%6.5%
 Community, social services2.7%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.3%1.2%
 Education, library6.5%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock3.3%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.7%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement2.1%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock8.3%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.4%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.2%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support19.8%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.7%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair8.9%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock6.7%13.1%
Reviews for Tacoma    40 Reviews

I've lived in Tacoma for 3.5 years and love it! It's not a perfect city, nowhere is perfect and Tacoma does have its' share of problems, but overall have found T-Town  More

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Over 4 years ago

We LOVE tacoma. Grew up in Seattle, and tacoma is so much better! Easy access to the water, hiking, and Mt Rainier and the Olympics. We love the coffee shops and  More

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Over 5 years ago

Having lived over half my life here I can tell you real friends are few and far between. You will go through many and only have a handful who stick with you. Your  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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