City · Santa Barbara County, California

Guadalupe, California

Guadalupe is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, part of the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area. It has 8,566 residents. Guadalupe, California has a quality-of-life score of 36 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,038 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #548 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on comfortable days (high), mental health providers (high) and preventable hospital stays (low). It ranks worst on high school diploma or higher (low), poor or fair health (high) and unemployment rate (high).

36Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,038 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #548 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 8,566 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 6,533.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 0631414

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety49#7,920/15,637
Economy15#13,278/15,631
Housing9#13,651/14,977
Health53#7,285/15,609
Healthcare66#5,294/15,650
Environment81#2,999/15,453
Education1#15,525/15,649
Infrastructure31#10,837/15,650
Community37#9,884/15,651
Leisure & amenities93#1,088/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Guadalupe, California ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Santa Barbara County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Comfortable days · high56.5%
100/100California 34.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSanta Barbara County value
Mental health providers · high684 /100k
96/100California 487 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSanta Barbara County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,571 /100k
96/100California 2,428 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSanta Barbara County value
Public EV charging ports · high17.6 /10k
93/100California 17.4 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergySanta Barbara County value
Grocery stores · high2.7 /10k
92/100California 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSanta Barbara County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low6 mi
92/100California 10 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauSanta Barbara County value

Weaknesses

High school diploma or higher · low52.7%
1/100California 84.7%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Poor or fair health · high37.0%
2/100California 21.5%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Unemployment rate · high14.4%
3/100California 5.5%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Food insecurity · high37.8%
4/100California 18.5%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Home price to income ratio · high7.4×
4/100California 7.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Physical inactivity · high38.5%
4/100California 23.5%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
7,451 (2015-2019) → 8,566 (2020-2024)
+15%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
8.4 /1k (2021) → 1.8 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−79%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
58.0% (2015-2019) → 68.8% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Unemployment rateWorsening
4.2% (2015-2019) → 14.4% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Poverty rateWorsening
18.0% (2015-2019) → 27.7% (2020-2024)
+9.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
26.6% (2015-2019) → 35.9% (2020-2024)
+9.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Guadalupe, California improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 4. 8 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Household income+32%$50,864 → $66,930
Broadband+4.5 points85.3% → 89.8%

Declined4

Unemployment+10 points4.2% → 14.4%
Price / income+2.4×5.1× → 7.4×
Uninsured+7.6 points10.9% → 18.6%
Inequality+0.0650.388 → 0.453

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Guadalupe, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.0 min2015-2019	26.5 min2020-2024	+5.6 min	Within the margin of error	8%
Bachelor's degree or higher	9.2%2015-2019	9.3%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Broadband subscriptions	85.3%2015-2019	89.8%2020-2024	+4.5 points	Improved	29%
Child poverty rate	26.6%2015-2019	35.9%2020-2024	+9.3 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Effective property tax rate	0.70%2015-2019	0.66%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	22%
High school diploma or higher	55.4%2015-2019	52.7%2020-2024	−2.7 points	Within the margin of error	12%
Home price to income ratio	5.1×2015-2019	7.4×2020-2024	+2.4×	Declined	2%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3882015-2019	0.4532020-2024	+0.065	Declined	11%
Median household income	$50,8642015-2019	$66,9302020-2024	+32%	Improved	59%
Poverty rate	18.0%2015-2019	27.7%2020-2024	+9.7 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Rent as share of income	35.2%2015-2019	40.9%2020-2024	+5.7 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Rent-burdened households	58.0%2015-2019	68.8%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Unemployment rate	4.2%2015-2019	14.4%2020-2024	+10 points	Declined	1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.9%2015-2019	18.6%2020-2024	+7.6 points	Declined	5%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Guadalupe, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Guadalupe, California in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Guadalupe, California itself moved −12.5 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

8,566 residents (±45)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

2,092 households (±168)

Guadalupe, California
California share

Under $25k19%†407
$25k–50k17%†366
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

2,092 households (±168)

Guadalupe, California
California share

Own55%1,160
Rent45%932

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

2,919 workers (±349)

Guadalupe, California
California share

Drive alone75%2,181
Carpool16%†468
Public transit1.6%†

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Santa Barbara County, the county holding most of Guadalupe's residents.

Santa Barbara County has 12,484 employer establishments, 282 for every 10,000 residents (1.14× the US rate of 248; 1.07× California's), with 160,460 paid employees at an average annual pay of $69,069. The Census Bureau also counts 35,359 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 12,484; 35,359 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 282; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 160,460
Average annual pay: $69,069; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Santa Barbara County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	1,082	24.4	1.17×About typical	10,441	$77,595	1,856
Restaurants and other eating places	979	22.1	1.20×About typical	18,720	$29,079	113
Specialty trade contractors	871	19.7	1.27×More than typical	6,549	$64,625	1,470
Lessors of real estate	752	17	1.38×More than typical	2,677	$60,595	4,148
Services to buildings and dwellings	453	10.2	1.52×More than typical	3,508	$42,368	2,104
Limited-service restaurants	420	9.5	1.18×About typical	7,700	$25,575	54
Offices of physicians	416	9.4	1.45×More than typical	3,089	$119,665	414
Full-service restaurants	404	9.1	1.19×About typical	8,974	$32,731	36
Construction of buildings	387	8.7	1.16×About typical	2,362	$76,369	811
Management, scientific and technical consulting	350	7.9	1.18×About typical	1,319	$108,594	1,778
Building equipment contractors	335	7.6	1.26×More than typical	2,395	$74,384	341
Building finishing contractors	288	6.5	1.71×More than typical	2,228	$52,390	551

Rank places for an industry Open Santa Barbara County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 442,878 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Guadalupe, California: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

2.3KFY2023
868.1FY2024
-43FY2025

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Guadalupe, California, so they do not add up across cities.

Guadalupe, California's figures are part of those of Santa Barbara County, CA ($575.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Guadalupe is mostly in Santa Barbara County.

See federal money in Santa Barbara County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Guadalupe, California is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Salud O. CarbajalD-CA-24 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 0.7%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Santa Barbara County67100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA76

Other cities and towns in Santa Barbara County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0631414

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends