Farm Census

Santa Barbara County, California

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,359 farms621,663 acres in farms$2.61 billion in farm sales

Santa Barbara County ranks ninth of 3,029 US counties for the value of farm products sold in 2022; its crop sales rank fifth.

Among counties with published figures, it also ranks second for berries, sixth for sales of fruit and nuts and sales of nursery and greenhouse crops and eighth for vegetables.

Its number of horses and ponies grew between 2017 and 2022, the fifth-largest increase among the 100 leading horse counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Fruit and nuts: 54.4%Fruit and nuts54.4%Vegetables and melons: 32.9%Vegetables and melons32.9%Nursery and greenhouse: 10.7%10.7%Withheld groups: 0.9%0.9%Cattle and calves: 0.8%0.8%Other animals: 0.1%Horses and mules: 0.1%Aquaculture: 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Fruit and nuts: 54.4%Fruit and nuts54.4%Vegetables and melons: 32.9%Vegetables and melons32.9%Nursery and greenhouse: 10.7%10.7%Withheld groups: 0.9%0.9%Cattle and calves: 0.8%Other animals: 0.1%Horses and mules: 0.1%Aquaculture: 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: grains and oilseeds, hay and other crops, Christmas trees, milk and hogs and pigs.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$1.42 billion6th of 52
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$858 million4th of 48
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$280 million2nd of 43
Cattle and calves$20.1 million24th of 52
Other animals and animal products$3.6 million10th of 36
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$3.2 million6th of 47
Aquaculture$1.5 million10th of 11
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$295,00032nd of 45
Poultry and eggs$205,00029th of 41

What the fields held

Santa Barbara County harvested 114,888 acres of cropland in 2022, 19th of 54 counties in California. Vegetables covered acreage equal to 67% of that, orchard land 31%.

CropAcresShare of US
Vegetables77,1671.8%
Orchard land36,1790.58%
of which almonds9960.06%
of which grapes21,7432.0%
of which citrus3,0830.40%
Berries18,5485.2%
Hay and haylage5,547under 0.1%
Dry edible beans353under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for grain, wheat, corn for silage, oats, potatoes and apples.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms35.5%

Santa Barbara County ranks 24th of 55 counties in California on this measure.

  • 151,355 acres of cropland, 24% of farmland
  • 394,564 acres of pastureland, 63% of farmland
  • 55,538 acres of woodland, 9% of farmland
  • 113,585 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Santa Barbara County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 33 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 457 acres, 20th-largest of 52 in California. The most common size class is 1–9 acres, with 31.9% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 9.1% of the total.

1–932%10–4925%50–17916%180–49913%500–9996%1,000–1,9995%2,000+4%
Santa Barbara County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Horses and ponies5,5150.23%
Goats1,6230.06%
Cattle and calves26,489under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs862under 0.1%
Turkeys2,112under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs635under 0.1%
Laying hens3,044under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 20221,100under 0.1%

Withheld: beef cows and milk cows.

Who farms here

Decisions on Santa Barbara County's 1,359 farms are made by 2,809 producers. Their average age is 59.9, the same as the California average. Women are 35.5% of them.

Under 356%35–4412%45–5417%55–6422%65–7426%75+17%
Santa Barbara County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,467−7.4%
Land in farms, acres715,067−13.1%
Average farm size, acres487−6.2%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$1.52 billion+71.6%
Berries, acres10,110+83.5%
Grapes, acres25,909−16.1%
Vegetables, acres66,950+15.3%
Orchard land, acres42,223−14.3%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Santa Barbara County accounts for 4.4% of farm sales in California and 2.2% of the farms in California. Rank California counties for berries.

Source: USDA NASS Census of Agriculture. How to read these pages.