Photo: Mike Boucher · CC BY 2.0Living in Montecito, CA: what to set up and who to call
Montecito has no town government of its own, so Santa Barbara County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Santa Barbara Unified School District (7-12). Cox Communications is the only wired internet provider that reaches most of Montecito.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Montecito, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Montecito.
Power comes from Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison (Southern California Edison Co), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Montecito. Its homes paid an average of 31.5¢ per kWh in 2025, about $149 a month (its average across California, for customers on its standard service). California lets you buy power from another supplier; 30% of Southern California Edison’s home customers do, and Southern California Edison still delivers it.
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Montecito Water Dist
Montecito Water Dist supplies Montecito: about 96% of residents live in its service area. It draws surface water (EPA lists City of Santa Barbara Water Department and Cachuma Project and Central Coast Water Authority as sellers) and serves 11,962 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 83% of the 3,525 systems serving 10,001–50,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2024–Dec 2026, was 0.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. Results below detection are reported as 0, so 0 doesn’t mean no lead at any tap.
The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report
EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. CA4210007.
5 home internet providers serve Montecito
90% of 3,481 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 8% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cox Communications | Cable | 97% | 2,000/100 |
| Frontier | Fiber, DSL | 11% | 7,000/7,000 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 29% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 9% | 100/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 5% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Montecito’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Montecito.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Most of Montecito (49%) is in Santa Barbara Unified School District (7-12); parts are in Montecito Union Elementary School District (35%) and Cold Spring Elementary School District (14%) and Carpinteria Unified School District (2%).
A+School gradeSee Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
No town hall: the county runs things
Montecito is unincorporated, so Santa Barbara County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Sep 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Montecito is in ZIP code 93108
ZIP codes where Montecito residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Montecito | ZIP’s residents in Montecito |
|---|---|---|---|
| 93108 | Santa Barbara, CA | 99% | 76% |
A few homes fall in 93103.
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
Getting around, the ER and the library
One line each; the subject pages have the rest.
ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Montecito
Who supplies Montecito’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Montecito Water Dist (EPA ID CA4210007). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 83% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 0.0 ppb (Jan 2024–Dec 2026), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Montecito?
Southern California Edison (Southern California Edison Co), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 31.5¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Montecito?
Cox Communications, Frontier, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Montecito?
93108. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Montecito in?
Santa Barbara Unified School District (7-12). Parts of the city are in Montecito Union Elementary School District and Cold Spring Elementary School District and Carpinteria Unified School District.
How do I register to vote in Montecito?
In California you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before). Elections here are run by the Santa Barbara County Clerk-Elections. Check your registration at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov.
Sources & dates
Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.
- Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
- Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
- Trash: OpenStreetMap, Geofabrik extract of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
- ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
- Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
- Registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
- Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
- Internet: FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.