Funeral services · Metro area · California
Funeral homes in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area
How the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for funeral homes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 75 out of 100: High
Ranked #45 of 377 scored metro areas
#5 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 15
- 2 chain locations (13%)
- Official establishments
- 10
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $24.9M
- On funerals · $166 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.7M
- 2.4 times the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 1.0
- 52% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 442,065
- −1.4% since 2020
See the funeral homes around any address in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area
The site report maps the funeral homes on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
Household spending on funerals in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area comes to about $24.9M a year: $166 per household, 16% above the U.S. average. That is about $1.7M of household spending for each home on map listings, 2.4 times the U.S. figure of $679K.
The Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area has 15 funeral homes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 13% of them, against 10% across the U.S. That comes to 1.0 for every 10,000 households, 52% below the U.S. rate of 2.1.
Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as funeral homes and funeral services in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area in 2023. That is one for every 14,961 households, against one for every 8,510 across the U.S.
Population estimates show the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area declined 1.4% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for funeral homes in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area is 75 (high), #45 of 377 scored metro areas and #5 of 25 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area compares
The same measures for California and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all funerals by the funeral homes counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 1.0 | 1.1 | 2.1 |
| Spending per listing | $1.7M | $1.4M | $679K |
| Households per official establishment | 14,961 | 17,063 | 8,510 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +3.4% | −1.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.4% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on funerals | $166 | $151 | $143 |
| Median household income | $98,161 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 75 | 73 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 10
- Employees, 2023
- 61
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 152 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 37The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as funeral homes and funeral services in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 442,065−1.4% since 2020
- Households
- 149,608
- Median age
- 37.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 52%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 2,734 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 162
- Median household income
- $98,161+31.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $140,895
- Median home value
- $790,700
- Jobs located here
- 193,212
- Daytime population
- 452,081Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the funeral homes on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardFuneral homes across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for funeral homes, numbered among those based in California, with the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area marked.
Top metro areas in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 80 | 173 | 1.2 | $1.3M | +3.5% | #30 of 377 |
| 2Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 78 | 101 | 1.1 | $1.3M | +3.2% | #33 of 377 |
| 3Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | 77 | 21 | 1.1 | $1.5M | −0.4% | #37 of 377 |
| 4San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 76 | 53 | 0.8 | $1.9M | −0.6% | #43 of 377 |
| 5Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | 75 | 15 | 1.0 | $1.7M | −1.4% | #45 of 377 |
| 6Stockton-Lodi, CA | 74 | 38 | 1.5 | $947K | +5.5% | #54 of 377 |
| 7Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 73 | 399 | 0.9 | $1.7M | −2.6% | #55 of 377 |
| 8San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 73 | 168 | 1.0 | $1.6M | −2.4% | #56 of 377 |
| 9San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | 72 | 12 | 1.1 | $1.5M | 0.0% | #61 of 377 |
| 10Salinas, CA | 71 | 16 | 1.2 | $1.4M | −1.5% | #66 of 377 |
Other business types in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
- Funeral homes75
Questions
How many funeral homes are in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 15 funeral homes in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area. 2 of them (13%) are chain locations. The listings count funeral homes, mortuaries and cremation services. Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as funeral homes and funeral services in 2023.
How much do households in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area spend on funerals?
About $24.9M a year, or $166 per household. That is 16% above the U.S. average (an index of 116, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 15 funeral homes on map listings, it comes to $1.7M per home. It is estimated from the incomes of the 149,608 households in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for funeral homes?
The Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area has 1.0 funeral homes per 10,000 households, 52% below the U.S. rate of 2.1. Spending per home is $1.7M, 2.4 times the U.S. figure of $679K. At the U.S. ratio of funeral homes to household spending, the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area would have about 37, against 15 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 14,961 households, against one for every 8,510 across the U.S.
How fast is the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area at 442,065 people in 2025, down 1.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 149,608 households. The median household income in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area is $98,161 a year, 22% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.5% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area scores 75 for funeral homes (high), #45 of 377 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area. It maps the funeral homes on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for funeral homes · All 56 business types in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.