Santa Maria-Santa Barbara migration, mapped
In 2022–23, 11,761 people moved into the Santa Maria metro and 15,252 moved out, a net of −3,491. Yellow arcs are people arriving, blue arcs are people leaving. Hover a dot to see the corridor, or click through to compare.
The map couldn’t load. The numbers below still tell the story.
† IRS methodology change in this year’s files (see methodology)
What the flows say
- Biggest published corridors: Los Angeles, CA leads both directions, with 1,848 people in and 1,686 out in 2022–23. The listed corridors cover about 69–72% of all flows; the totals count everyone.
- Trend: net outflow has held roughly steady over the last three years, from −3,680 in 2020–21 to −3,491 in 2022–23†.
Population · 2025
442,065
▼ 0.2% year over year · shrinking
Peak population · 2020
448,325
1.4% below the 2020 peak
Why the population is changing
- Growth driver: domestic outflow led the population decline in 2025: −3,844, against births minus deaths (+2,151) and international migration (+688).
- Peak population: the high-water mark was 448,325 in 2020. The 2025 estimate of 442,065 is 1.4% below that.
Net income flow · 2022–23
+$60M
▲ $889M arrived · $829M left
Avg household income · movers
$116k in · $85k out
arrivals out-earn leavers by 36%
Santa Maria wealth migration
- Money moved: households moving into the Santa Maria metro in 2022–23 reported $889M in income (AGI). Households leaving took $829M with them, a net gain of $60M.
- Income gap: the average household moving in reported $116k of income, vs $85k for leavers. Arrivals out-earn leavers by 36%.
About the data
Corridors are IRS county-to-county migration flows added up into metro areas (2023 Census metro definitions; exemptions ≈ people). "Rest of" entries cover a state's counties outside any featured metro. The IRS hides corridors with fewer than 20 returns, so the lists here cover about 72% of inbound and 69% of outbound movers in 2022–23. The in, out, and net totals count everyone. Income figures are the total income (AGI) movers reported, from the complete county totals. Dollars are not adjusted for inflation, and household averages divide by the number of returns. Population figures are Census Bureau estimates; the peak covers records since 2000. Years marked † had a change in how the IRS built the files. Full details on the methodology page.
Download this data (CSV), free to use with attribution.
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