Food and drink · Metro area · California
Sit-down restaurants in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for sit-down restaurants 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 29 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #351 of 387 scored metro areas
#21 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 1,126
- 262 chain locations (23%)
- Official establishments
- 404
- −3.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $677.9M
- On food away from home · $4,531 a household
- Spending per listing
- $602K
- 9% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 75.3
- 23% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 442,065
- −1.4% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area
The site report maps the sit-down restaurants 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
For sit-down restaurants, the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area has a Groundwork market score of 29 (lower middle): #351 of 387 scored metro areas and #21 of 25 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,126 sit-down restaurants in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area. Of those, 262 are chain locations, or 23%, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 75.3, 23% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.
At $4,531 per household (11% above the U.S. average), households in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area spend about $677.9M a year on food away from home. That is about $602K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 9% below the U.S. figure of $664K. That spending covers all food away from home, which sit-down restaurants share with other businesses in the trade.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area was 404 in 2023, down 3.6% from 2019. That is one for every 370 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 16 SBA-backed loans worth $11.1M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area declined 1.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
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 food away from home by the sit-down restaurants 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 | 75.3 | 73.9 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $602K | $617K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 370 | 432 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −3.6% | −1.9% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.4% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,531 | $4,559 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $98,161 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 29 | 34 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 404−3.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 8,974
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $293.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 45Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,126262 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 1,022The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 16
- Amount
- $11.1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants 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 sit-down restaurants 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 cardSit-down restaurants across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for sit-down restaurants, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Yuba City, CA | 81 | 258 | 41.7 | $935K | +3.3% | #14 of 387 |
| 2Stockton-Lodi, CA | 77 | 1,321 | 53.9 | $797K | +5.5% | #22 of 387 |
| 3Merced, CA | 66 | 406 | 47.2 | $750K | +5.1% | #75 of 387 |
| 4Vallejo, CA | 64 | 871 | 55.3 | $816K | +0.6% | #87 of 387 |
| 5Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 58 | 8,730 | 60.2 | $700K | +3.5% | #128 of 387 |
| 6Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 54 | 5,508 | 62.5 | $712K | +3.2% | #158 of 387 |
| 7Hanford-Corcoran, CA | 54 | 237 | 53.8 | $679K | +1.0% | #161 of 387 |
| 8Fresno, CA | 49 | 2,286 | 61.8 | $621K | +3.2% | #203 of 387 |
| 9Chico, CA | 48 | 447 | 53.7 | $693K | −0.5% | #210 of 387 |
| 10Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | 47 | 1,824 | 65.1 | $735K | −1.5% | #212 of 387 |
| 21Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | 29 | 1,126 | 75.3 | $602K | −1.4% | #351 of 387 |
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
- Restaurants and cafes24
- Sit-down restaurants29
- Fast food and sandwich shops50
- Pizza52
- Coffee shops and cafes28
- Bakeries and dessert shops29
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many sit-down restaurants are in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area?
There are 1,126 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area as of September 2026. 262 of them (23%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 404 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 3.6% from 2019. Another 45 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $677.9M a year, or $4,531 per household. That is 11% above the U.S. average (an index of 111, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,126 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $602K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. 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 sit-down restaurants?
The Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area has 75.3 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 23% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $602K, 9% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area would have about 1,022, against 1,126 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 370 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 3.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for 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 29 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #351 of 387 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 sit-down restaurants 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 sit-down restaurants · 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.