Real estate · Metro area · California
Home inspectors in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for home inspectors in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 64 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #48 of 243 scored metro areas
#10 of 17 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 10
- 1 chain location (10%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $3B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $19,884 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 113
- 13% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 0.7
- 17% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 442,065
- −1.4% since 2020
See the home inspectors around any address in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area
The site report maps the home inspectors 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 rent and homeowner costs in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area comes to about $3B a year: $19,884 per household, 19% above the U.S. average. Housing spending per business is 13% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money home inspectors take in.
There are 10 home inspectors on map listings in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area as of September 2026. One of them (10%) is a chain location, against 3% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 0.7, 17% above the U.S. rate of 0.6.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as building inspection services in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area was 7 in 2023. That is one for every 21,373 households, against one for every 17,237 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −1.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For home inspectors, the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area has a Groundwork market score of 64 (upper middle): #48 of 243 scored metro areas and #10 of 17 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. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 113 | 168 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 21,373 | 13,535 | 17,237 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +14.5% | +6.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.4% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $19,884 | $19,977 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $98,161 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 64 | 55 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7
- Employees, 2023
- 26
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $906K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 101 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 11The 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 building inspection 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 home inspectors 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 cardHome inspectors across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for home inspectors, 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 | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Stockton-Lodi, CA | 85 | 9 | 0.4 | 198 | +5.5% | #1 of 243 |
| 2San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 81 | 16 | 0.2 | 391 | −0.6% | #4 of 243 |
| 3San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 75 | 48 | 0.3 | 313 | −2.4% | #15 of 243 |
| 4Vallejo, CA | 75 | 8 | 0.5 | 148 | +0.6% | #17 of 243 |
| 5Salinas, CA | 73 | 7 | 0.5 | 141 | −1.5% | #21 of 243 |
| 6Fresno, CA | 71 | 11 | 0.3 | 225 | +3.2% | #24 of 243 |
| 7Modesto, CA | 70 | 6 | 0.3 | 204 | +0.7% | #27 of 243 |
| 8San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | 68 | 5 | 0.5 | 163 | 0.0% | #31 of 243 |
| 9Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 66 | 60 | 0.7 | 110 | +3.2% | #40 of 243 |
| 10Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | 64 | 10 | 0.7 | 113 | −1.4% | #48 of 243 |
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
- Real estate32
- Real estate agents and brokers37
- Property management25
- Mortgage brokers and lenders33
- Home inspectors64
Funeral services
Questions
How many home inspectors are in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 10 home inspectors in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area. One of them (10%) is a chain location. The listings count home inspectors. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as building inspection services in 2023.
How much do households in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $3B a year, or $19,884 per household. That is 19% above the U.S. average (an index of 119, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 10 home inspectors on map listings, housing spending per business is 13% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money home inspectors take in. 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 home inspectors?
The Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area has 0.7 home inspectors per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 0.6. The index of housing spending per business is 113, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of home inspectors to household spending, the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area would have about 11, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 21,373 households, against one for every 17,237 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 64 for home inspectors (upper middle), #48 of 243 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 home inspectors 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 home inspectors · 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.