Isla Vista, CA

Census Place

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2023 Population

13,717

6.83% 1-year decline

US Senator

Alex Padilla

Democratic Party

US Senator

Adam Schiff

Democratic Party

2023 Median Age

21.2

0.474% 1-year increase

2023 Poverty Rate

69.3%

4.35% 1-year decrease

2023 Median Household Income

$24,428

5.65% 1-year growth

2023 Employed Population

6,624

4.28% 1-year decline

About

The 5 largest ethnic groups in Isla Vista, CA are White (Non-Hispanic) (53.2%), Asian (Non-Hispanic) (14.9%), Other (Hispanic) (7.98%), White (Hispanic) (7%), and Two+ (Hispanic) (5.39%).

None of the households in Isla Vista, CA reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

90.4% of the residents in Isla Vista, CA are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Isla Vista, CA are University of California-Santa Barbara (7,814 degrees awarded in 2022).

Most people in Isla Vista, CA drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 15.8 minutes. The average car ownership in Isla Vista, CA was 2 cars per household.

United States California Santa Barbara County, CA Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara County--South Coast Region PUMA, CA

Population & Diversity

Isla Vista, CA is home to a population of 13.7k people, from which 90.4% are citizens. As of 2023, 11.7% of Isla Vista, CA residents were born outside of the country (1.6k people).

In 2023, there were 3.57 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (7.3k people) in Isla Vista, CA than any other race or ethnicity. There were 2.04k Asian (Non-Hispanic) and 1.1k Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

90.4%

2023 Citizenship

88.7%

2022 Citizenship

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Isla Vista, CA compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Isla Vista, CA

White (Non-Hispanic)
7.3k ± 853
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
2.04k ± 365
Other (Hispanic)
1.1k ± 378

23.3%

Hispanic Population

3.2k people

23.3% of the people in Isla Vista, CA are hispanic (3.2k people).

The following chart shows the 7 races represented in Isla Vista, CA as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the Place level, so we are showing data for California.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
3,899,021 ± 46,015 people
Philippines
824,230 ± 22,055 people
China
685,370 ± 20,148 people

In 2022, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of California was Mexico, the natal country of 3,899,021 California residents, followed by Philippines with 824,230 and China with 685,370.

Foreign-Born Population

11.7%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

1.6k people

13.7%

2022 Foreign-Born Population

2.02k people

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Isla Vista, CA compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
45 ± 51
Gulf War (2001-)
17 ± 36
World War II
12 ± 18

Isla Vista, CA has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 2.65 times greater than any other conflict.

Economy

The economy of Isla Vista, CA employs 6.62k people. The largest industries in Isla Vista, CA are Accommodation & Food Services (1,786 people), Educational Services (1,358 people), and Retail Trade (872 people), and the highest paying industries are Construction ($45,781), Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($30,804), and Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($27,917).

Males in California have an average income that is 1.26 times higher than the average income of females, which is $75,777. The income inequality in California (measured using the Gini index) is 0.498, which is higher than than the national average.

Employment

Occupations

6.62k

2023 Value

± 709

−4.28%

1 Year decline

± 15.8%

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Isla Vista, CA, are Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations (1,352 people), Education Instruction, & Library Occupations (952 people), and Office & Administrative Support Occupations (812 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Isla Vista, CA.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for false.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in California (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

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Industries

Employment by Industries

6.62k

2023 Value

± 709

−4.28%

1 Year decline

± 15.8%

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Isla Vista, CA, are Accommodation & Food Services (1,786 people), Educational Services (1,358 people), and Retail Trade (872 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Isla Vista, CA, though some of these residents may live in Isla Vista, CA and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$16,044

Median earning men ± $6,478

$7,796

Median earning women ± $2,684

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2023 are Construction ($45,781), Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($27,250), and Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($26,007).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2023 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($30,804), Manufacturing ($15,417), and Retail Trade ($12,279).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for California.

Y-Axis

2.57%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 17.9M people employed in California. This represents a 2.57% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 14%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in California.

Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in California went to Kamala Harris with 58.5% of the vote. The runner-up was Donald J. Trump (38.3%), followed by Robert Kennedy (1.25%).

Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff are the senators currently representing the state of California. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

California is currently represented by 52 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Presidential Popular Vote Over Time

Voting results are not available for Isla Vista, CA. Showing the available data for California.

2024 Election Results

Kamala Harris (58.5%)
Democratic Party
Donald J. Trump (38.3%)
Republican Party
Robert Kennedy (1.25%)
Independent Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in California went to Kamala Harris with 58.5% of the vote. The runner-up was Donald J. Trump (38.3%), followed by Robert Kennedy (1.25%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in California for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

Senator Elections

US Senators from California

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for California.

Alex Padilla

Senator from California

Assumed office on January 20, 2021
Appointed to the seat following the resignation of Kamala Harris, who had become Vice President of the United States.

Adam Schiff

Senator from California

Assumed office on December 8, 2024
Elected to the seat to succeed Laphonza Butler, who had been appointed to the seat following the death of Dianne Feinstein.

Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff are the senators currently representing California.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in California over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

US Representative Elections

US Representatives from California

California is currently represented by 52 members in the U.S. house.

Members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms, and the following chart shows the how the members for California have changed over time starting in 2008.

Education

In 2022, universities in Isla Vista, CA awarded 7,814 degrees. The student population of Isla Vista, CA in 2022 is skewed towards women, with 11,905 male students and 14,515 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Isla Vista, CA are White (2,473 and 36.6%), followed by Hispanic or Latino (1,870 and 27.7%), Asian (1,434 and 21.2%), and Two or More Races (590 and 8.74%).

The largest universities in Isla Vista, CA by number of degrees awarded are University of California-Santa Barbara (7,814 and 100%).

The most popular majors in Isla Vista, CA are Sociology (684 and 8.75%), Econometrics & Quantitative Economics (679 and 8.69%), and Experimental Psychology (474 and 6.07%).

The median tuition cost in Isla Vista, CA for a public four year colleges is $11,564 for in-state students and $41,636 for out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2022 there were 26,420 students enrolled in Isla Vista, CA, 45.1% men and 54.9% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 8,418 records, of which 56.5% were women and 43.5% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Sociology
672 degrees awarded
Econometrics & Quantitative Economics
656 degrees awarded
Experimental Psychology
456 degrees awarded

In 2022, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Isla Vista, CA was Sociology with 672 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Isla Vista, CA according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

University of California-Santa Barbara

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

7,814 degrees awarded

In 2022, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was University of California-Santa Barbara with 7,814 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2022, 3,456 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Isla Vista, CA, which is 0.793 times less than the 4,358 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2022 the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 2,473 degrees mean that there were 1.32 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 1,870 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Working Population

Educational Pyramid

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for California.

Measure

In 2022, 2.08% of men over 25 years of age had not completed any academic degree (no schooling), while 2.26% of women were in the same situation.

This visualization shows the gender distribution of the population according to the academic level reached.

Educational Attainment

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for California.

Race

The most common educational levels obtained by the working population in 2022 were Some college (6.9M), High School or Equivalent (6.8M), and Bachelors Degree (6.36M).

This visualization illustrates the percentage distribution of the population according to the highest educational level reached. You can filter the data by race by using the selector above.

Housing & Living

People in Isla Vista, CA have an average commute time of 15.8 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Isla Vista, CA is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Rent vs Own

N/A%

Homeownership

N/A

57.6%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2023

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Isla Vista, CA compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Income by Location

Use the dropdown to filter by race/ethnicity.

Race/Ethnicity

Highest Median Household Income (Total)

Census Tract 29.24
Census Tract 29.26

The following map shows all of the places in Isla Vista, CA colored by their Median Household Income (Total).

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$24,428

Median Household Income

± $5,820

4.59k

Number of Households

± 519

The following chart displays the households in Isla Vista, CA distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the < $10k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Isla Vista, CA is from California.

0.498

2022 Wage GINI in California

0.497

2021 Wage GINI in California

In 2022, the income inequality in California was 0.498 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.107% growth from 2021 to 2022, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat less even. The GINI for California was higher than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed less evenly in California in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in California across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2023

Drove Alone (50.6%)
Walked (17.2%)
Bicycle (13.1%)

In 2023, 50.6% of workers in Isla Vista, CA drove alone to work, followed by those who walked to work (17.2%) and those who used a bicycle to get to work (13.1%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

15.8 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Isla Vista, CA have a shorter commute time (15.8 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.6 minutes). Additionally, 0.856% of the workforce in Isla Vista, CA have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Isla Vista, CA compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Isla Vista, CA distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Isla Vista, CA have 2 cars.

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

69.3% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Isla Vista, CA (8.31k out of 12k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.4%. The largest demographic living in poverty are N/A N/A, followed by N/A N/A and then N/A N/A.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Isla Vista, CA is White, followed by Hispanic and Asian.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals
Florida
4,915 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798. New York has the second highest (5,087), followed by Florida (4,915).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Health

94.9% of the population of Isla Vista, CA has health coverage, with 54.7% on employee plans, 9.67% on Medicaid, 1.84% on Medicare, 28% on non-group plans, and 0.774% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Santa Barbara County, CA see 1316 patients per year on average, which represents a 0.0759% decrease from the previous year (1317 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1133 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 163 patients per year.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

Data is only available at the country level. Showing data for Santa Barbara County, CA.

1,316 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Santa Barbara County, CA

Primary care physicians in Santa Barbara County, CA see an average of 1,316 patients per year. This represents a 0.0759% decrease from the previous year (1,317 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Santa Barbara County, CA in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In 2023, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 8.45% under 18 years, 85.2% between 18 and 34 years, 3.99% between 35 and 64 years, and 2.36% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 43.7% were men and 56.3% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

5.07%

Uninsured

54.7%

Employer Coverage

9.67%

Medicaid

1.84%

Medicare

28%

Non-Group

0.774%

Military or VA

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Isla Vista, CA changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

Keep Exploring

California

State

Santa Barbara County, CA

County

Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA

MSA

United States

Nation