Electric Consumer

Editor: Katerine G., Editor & Data Researcher · Research & publishing: Electric Consumer Editorial Team · Data retrieved · Sources named on this page: EIA-861, EPA eGRID, Census ACS, DOE LEAD, OpenFEMA NFIP · How we got these numbers · Report an error

Electric companies in Santa Barbara County, California

Santa Barbara County, CA ranks 2 of 58 California counties for the lowest yearly electricity cost per home ($1,089). Santa Barbara County in California has 443,975 residents and 2 utilities listed by EIA, with home prices of 28.25 to 31.70 cents per kWh.

In Santa Barbara County, community choice aggregators may change the generation charge. How to compare.

Santa Barbara County on the map

Santa Barbara County, CA and nearby counties, shaded by storm eventsSanta BarbaraLos AngelesKernSan Luis ObispoVenturaKings

Santa Barbara County darker: more storm events

Cost of living with electricity in Santa Barbara County

Santa Barbara County, CA: electricity $1,089 a year per home (DOE LEAD), all home energy $1,670, 1.4% of $123,873 income. 148,032 households in Santa Barbara County, CA spend about $161.2 million a year on electricity and $247.2 million on all home energy. Lower-income homes in Santa Barbara County, CA ($23,345 a year) spend 5.0% of income, 3.7 times the all-home figure.

Energy burden in Santa Barbara County, CA

% of income on energy, Santa Barbara County, CA

  • All households1.4
  • Lower income5.0
  • Owners1.3
  • Renters1.4
  • California counties1.7
Santa Barbara County, CA home energy cost by household group
Santa Barbara County, CAHomesIncomePowerGasOtherBurden
Santa Barbara County, CA, all households148,032$123,873$1,089$568$131.4%
Santa Barbara County, CA, lower income38,877$23,345$806$364$45.0%
Santa Barbara County, CA, owners78,168$165,739$1,406$763$201.3%
Santa Barbara County, CA, renters69,864$77,031$734$350$51.4%

ZIP codes in Santa Barbara County

Electric utilities in Santa Barbara County

Utility listed for Santa Barbara County, CATypeHome price ¢/kWhYearly bill at 503 kWhShare of Santa Barbara County, CA median income of $95,977
Southern California Edison Co in Santa Barbara County, CAInvestor Owned28.25$1,7061.78%
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. in Santa Barbara County, CAInvestor Owned31.70$1,9141.99%

Prices are statewide utility averages, not a county price. Community choice aggregators may change the generation part of your bill.

Facts about Santa Barbara County

Residents of Santa Barbara County, CA, ACS 2023
443,97520 of 58 California counties
Households in Santa Barbara County, CA
148,9602.98 people each
Owner-occupied homes in Santa Barbara County, CA
52.9%78,754 owner and 70,206 renter households
Median household income in Santa Barbara County, CA
$95,97718 of 58 California counties
Housing units in Santa Barbara County, CA
159,76610,806 vacant or seasonal, 6.8% of the units
Homes heated by electricity in Santa Barbara County, CA
22.2%33,000 homes, 40 of 58 California counties
Utilities listed for Santa Barbara County, CA
22 with a home price: Southern California Edison Co, Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
Lowest home price in Santa Barbara County, CA
28.25 ¢/kWhSouthern California Edison Co, 10.9% below the highest
Highest home price in Santa Barbara County, CA
31.70 ¢/kWhPacific Gas & Electric Co.
Monthly bill gap in Santa Barbara County, CA
$17between the two at 503 kWh, $208 a year, 0.22% of the Santa Barbara County, CA median income
ZIP areas touching Santa Barbara County, CA
2493013 to 93463
Outage-linked storm events in Santa Barbara County, CA
44NWS storm events, 2015 to 2025
Homes built before 1980 in Santa Barbara County, CA
60.8%median year built 1974
Flood claims in Santa Barbara County, CA
404NFIP 2015 to 2025, $23.5M paid
Home energy burden in Santa Barbara County, CA
1.4%$1,089 a year on electricity (DOE LEAD)

Housing and heating in Santa Barbara County

Santa Barbara County, CA: 97,171 of 159,766 homes were built before 1980 and 23,115 in 2000 or later. Santa Barbara County, CA has 90,492 detached houses, 34,932 homes in 5+ unit buildings, 7,427 mobile homes, and 70,206 of 148,960 households rent.

Age of homes in Santa Barbara County, CA

% of homes by decade built, Santa Barbara County, CA

  1. 8pre-40
  2. 440s
  3. 1250s
  4. 1960s
  5. 1870s
  6. 1680s
  7. 990s
  8. 900s
  9. 510s
  10. 020+

Heating fuel in Santa Barbara County, CA

% of homes by main fuel, Santa Barbara County

  • Utility gas69.9
  • Electricity22.2
  • None3.8
  • Propane2.6
Santa Barbara County, CA housing against California counties
Santa Barbara County, CAValueState medianGapRank
Santa Barbara County, CA, median year built19741980-6 years49 of 58
Santa Barbara County, CA, built before 198060.8%49.4%+11.4 points8 of 58
Santa Barbara County, CA, built 2000 or later14.5%18.7%-4.2 points45 of 58
Santa Barbara County, CA, detached houses56.6%69.9%-13.3 points50 of 58
Santa Barbara County, CA, apartments in 5+ unit buildings21.9%11.4%+10.5 points11 of 58
Santa Barbara County, CA, mobile homes4.6%6.1%-1.5 points36 of 58
Santa Barbara County, CA, renter households47.1%36.9%+10.3 points4 of 58
Santa Barbara County, CA, median home value$735,700$453,950+$281,75016 of 58
Santa Barbara County, CA, median gross rent a month$2,050$1,528+$52214 of 57
Santa Barbara County, CA, people per household2.832.74+0.0924 of 58

Outage risk in Santa Barbara County

Santa Barbara County, CA, NWS storm events 2015 to 2025: 44 in all, 9.9 per 100,000 residents of 443,975, rank 42 of 56 California counties. Property damage in Santa Barbara County, CA: $22K, with 3 direct injuries or deaths.

Events by year in Santa Barbara County, CA

events a year, Santa Barbara County, CA

  1. 0'15
  2. 0'16
  3. 3'17
  4. 0'18
  5. 0'19
  6. 0'20
  7. 4'21
  8. 3'22
  9. 15'23
  10. 12'24
  11. 7'25

Events by type

events by type, Santa Barbara County, CA

  • Thunderstorm and high wind37
  • Winter storm and heavy snow3
  • Tornado1
Santa Barbara County, CA outage-linked hazards
Santa Barbara County, CAFEMAScoreRankEventsPeakDamage
Santa Barbara County, CA, thunderstorm and high windVery Low13.023 of 58372023 (11)$22K
Santa Barbara County, CA, tornadoVery Low5.449 of 5812023 (1)$0
Santa Barbara County, CA, hurricane and tropical stormNo Rating0.04 of 80none$0
Santa Barbara County, CA, winter storm and heavy snowVery Low1.454 of 5832023 (3)$0
Santa Barbara County, CA, heat waveRelatively Low75.437 of 580none$0

Santa Barbara County, CA, no score or events: ice storm.

Flood claims and flood insurance in Santa Barbara County

Santa Barbara County, CA: 404 NFIP flood claims in 2015 to 2025, $23.5M paid, median paid claim $36,347.

2,383 of 123,022 residential structures in Santa Barbara County, CA carry an NFIP contract. 3,808 NFIP policies of any type were in force in Santa Barbara County, CA on 8 Sep 2026. Santa Barbara County, CA lists 88 repetitive-loss properties.

Santa Barbara County, CA: claims history, not an outage count.

Flood claims by year in Santa Barbara County, CA

flood claims a year, Santa Barbara County, CA

  1. 0'15
  2. 10'16
  3. 20'17
  4. 183'18
  5. 22'19
  6. 0'20
  7. <5'21
  8. 10'22
  9. 128'23
  10. 20'24
  11. 8'25
Santa Barbara County, CA flood claims and flood insurance
Santa Barbara County, CAValueMedian countyRank
Santa Barbara County, CA, claims 2015-2025404—5 of 50
Santa Barbara County, CA, paid 2015-2025$23.5M—3 of 50
Santa Barbara County, CA, median paid claim$36,347——
Santa Barbara County, CA, claims per 1,000 homes3.30.87 of 50
Santa Barbara County, CA, homes with flood insurance1.9%1.0%13 of 56
Santa Barbara County, CA, policies in force3,808——
Santa Barbara County, CA, repetitive-loss properties88——

Santa Barbara County, CA: OpenFEMA NFIP, claims as of 8 Sep 2026, insured share as of 3 Aug 2026; counts under 5 are hidden.

Santa Barbara County: flood claims by state, flood hub.

Analyst note on Santa Barbara County

Santa Barbara County, CA touches 24 ZIP areas, 93013 to 93463, about 18,499 residents each. Santa Barbara County, CA counts 443,975 residents in 148,960 households. Household income in Santa Barbara County, CA is $95,977; 78,754 of its 148,960 households own.

33,000 of the 148,960 homes in Santa Barbara County, CA heat with electricity. Santa Barbara County, CA has 159,766 housing units, 10,806 (6.8%) vacant or seasonal, and 70,206 rented homes. Santa Barbara County, CA logged 44 storm events for its 443,975 residents.

The median home in Santa Barbara County, CA dates from 1974. Homes in Santa Barbara County, CA pay $1,089 a year for electricity. Santa Barbara County, CA home prices run Southern California Edison Co to Pacific Gas & Electric Co., $17 a month apart at 503 kWh.

Bill and heat pump calculator, Santa Barbara County

Compare Santa Barbara County with its neighbours

Cities in Santa Barbara County

California: home prices since 2001, planned plants.

Questions on Santa Barbara County

Santa Barbara County, CA: what do homes pay for electricity?

Santa Barbara County, CA homes paid 28.25 to 31.70 cents per kWh in 2024 across 2 listed utilities: $142 to $160 a month at 503 kWh, 1.78% to 1.99% of Santa Barbara County, CA income. In Santa Barbara County, CA, community choice aggregators may change the generation charge.

Santa Barbara County, CA: how many homes heat with electricity?

Santa Barbara County, CA: 33,000 of 148,960 occupied homes, 22.2%, rank 40 of 58.

Santa Barbara County, CA: median household income?

$95,977 in Santa Barbara County, CA, rank 18 of 58; 443,975 residents, 148,960 households.

Santa Barbara County, CA: outage-linked storms since 2015?

Santa Barbara County, CA: 44 NWS events, peak year 2023.

Santa Barbara County, CA: flood insurance claims since 2015?

Santa Barbara County, CA: 404 NFIP flood claims, $23.5M paid, 3.3 per 1,000 homes, 1.9% of homes insured.

How old are the homes in Santa Barbara County, CA?

Santa Barbara County, CA: median home built 1974; 60.8% predate 1980, 56.6% detached, 21.9% in 5+ unit buildings.

Santa Barbara County, CA: share of income for energy?

Santa Barbara County, CA homes spend $1,089 a year on electricity, $1,670 on all energy: 1.4% of $123,873; 5.0% for lower incomes.

Primary sources for Santa Barbara County, CA

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Santa Barbara County, CA ranks 2 of 58 California counties for the lowest yearly electricity cost per home ($1,089).