Groceries and convenience · County · California
Grocery and convenience stores in Santa Barbara County, CA
How Santa Barbara County, CA compares with other counties and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 48 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,279 of 2,402 scored counties
#30 of 55 scored counties in California
- Listings
- 307
- 111 chain locations (36%)
- Official establishments
- 162
- +3.2% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $976.3M
- On groceries · $6,526 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.2M
- 6% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 20.5
- 10% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 442,065
- −1.4% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Santa Barbara County
The site report maps the grocery and convenience stores 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 Santa Barbara County. 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
At $6,526 per household (3% above the U.S. average), households in Santa Barbara County spend about $976.3M a year on groceries. That is about $3.2M of household spending for each store on map listings, 6% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
Santa Barbara County has 307 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 36% of them, against 42% across the U.S. That is 20.5 per 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
In 2023, official counts showed 162 businesses with payroll in Santa Barbara County classed as grocery and convenience stores, up 3.2% from 2019. That is one for every 924 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts also show 31 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $8.6M have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Santa Barbara County.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Santa Barbara County declined 1.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in Santa Barbara County is 48 (lower middle), #1,279 of 2,402 scored counties and #30 of 55 scored counties in California.
How Santa Barbara County compares
The same measures for California and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all groceries by the grocery and convenience stores 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 Barbara County | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 20.5 | 18.1 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3.2M | $3.6M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 924 | 1,214 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +3.2% | +5.3% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.4% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,526 | $6,548 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $98,161 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 48 | 49 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 157 → 162+3.2% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 4,697
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $171.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 31Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 307111 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 288The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 7
- Amount
- $8.6M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Santa Barbara County, 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 Santa Barbara County
- 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 Santa Barbara County?
These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the grocery and convenience stores on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of Santa Barbara County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardGrocery and convenience stores across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in California for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in California, with Santa Barbara County marked.
Top counties in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Placer County, CA | 85 | 220 | 13.9 | $4.9M | +8.9% | #99 of 2,402 |
| 2San Benito County, CA | 80 | 38 | 18.5 | $3.7M | +8.6% | #188 of 2,402 |
| 3El Dorado County, CA | 74 | 107 | 14.0 | $4.8M | +0.6% | #311 of 2,402 |
| 4Riverside County, CA | 73 | 1,248 | 16.1 | $4M | +5.0% | #354 of 2,402 |
| 5Contra Costa County, CA | 71 | 552 | 13.3 | $5.3M | +0.3% | #402 of 2,402 |
| 6Santa Clara County, CA | 70 | 924 | 14.0 | $5.4M | −0.9% | #427 of 2,402 |
| 7Orange County, CA | 66 | 1,680 | 15.5 | $4.4M | −1.1% | #550 of 2,402 |
| 8Solano County, CA | 66 | 255 | 16.2 | $4M | +0.6% | #555 of 2,402 |
| 9Amador County, CA | 66 | 28 | 17.4 | $3.5M | +3.2% | #560 of 2,402 |
| 10San Diego County, CA | 65 | 1,804 | 15.4 | $4.3M | −0.6% | #581 of 2,402 |
| 30Santa Barbara County, CA | 48 | 307 | 20.5 | $3.2M | −1.4% | #1,279 of 2,402 |
Other business types in Santa Barbara County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores48
- Grocery stores40
- Convenience stores67
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many grocery and convenience stores are in Santa Barbara County, CA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 307 grocery and convenience stores in Santa Barbara County. 111 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 162 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 3.2% from 2019. Another 31 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Santa Barbara County, CA spend on groceries?
About $976.3M a year, or $6,526 per household. That is 3% above the U.S. average (an index of 103, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 307 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.2M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 149,608 households in Santa Barbara County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Santa Barbara County, CA compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
Santa Barbara County has 20.5 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.2M, 6% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Santa Barbara County would have about 288, against 307 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 924 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is Santa Barbara County, CA growing?
Population estimates put Santa Barbara County 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 Santa Barbara County 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. Santa Barbara County scores 48 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #1,279 of 2,402 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Santa Barbara County. It maps the grocery and convenience stores 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 grocery and convenience stores · All 56 business types in Santa Barbara County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Santa Barbara County?
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 Santa Barbara County. 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.