Photo: Pierre André · CC BY-SA 4.0Living in Santa Barbara, CA: what to set up and who to call
For recycling, Santa Barbara has Marborg Recycling Center at 20 David Love Place; OpenStreetMap lists it open Mon–Fri 8 am–4 pm. Trains stop in Santa Barbara.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Santa Barbara, 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 Santa Barbara.
Power comes from Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison (Southern California Edison Co), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Santa Barbara. 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 City of Santa Barbara Water Department
City of Santa Barbara Water Department supplies almost all of Santa Barbara. It draws surface water (EPA lists Central Coast Water Authority as seller) and serves 99,323 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 90% of the 597 systems serving 50,001–100,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2024–Dec 2026, was 2.5 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 76% of similar systems’ latest results.
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. CA4210010.
5 home internet providers serve Santa Barbara
94% of 22,506 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 66% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cox Communications | Cable, Fiber | 93% | 2,000/100 |
| Frontier | Fiber, DSL | 68% | 7,000/7,000 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 41% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 36% | 100/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 12% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash day in Santa Barbara depends on your street
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Santa Barbara, from the town’s own site.
Your pickup week
- TrashEvery week, on your street’s dayFind your street’s day on sustainability.santabarbaraca.gov →
- Bulky itemsCall to book
Downtown Recycling Center (ABOP)
132 Nopalitos Way, Santa Barbara, CA 93103
- Mon8 am–4 pm
- Tue8 am–4 pm
- Wed8 am–4 pm
- Thu8 am–4 pm
- Fri8 am–4 pm
Accepted at the curb
- All metal (no liquids or food)
- Aluminum cans
- Aluminum foil and trays
- Steel (tin) cans, scrap metal, metal parts
- Large plastic tubs
- Plastic flower pots and trays
- Cardboard (non-waxed, no soiled pizza boxes)
- Newspapers
- Computer and office paper
- Junk mail and magazines
- Paper bags
- Glass bottles and jars (metal caps and lids okay)
- All glass containers (must be empty of any food or liquid)
Downtown Recycling Center (MarBorg)
132 Nopalitos Way Santa Barbara, CA 93103
From sustainability.santabarbaraca.gov, santabarbaraca.gov, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026; pages dated 2026-06-08, 2026-07-15, 2026-09-29. Rules change: the town’s page is the last word. .
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Most of Santa Barbara (72%) is in Santa Barbara Unified School District; parts are in Santa Barbara Unified School District (7-12) (14%) and Goleta Union Elementary School District (6%) and Hope Elementary School District (6%).
B+School gradeSee Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
Town hall and registering to vote
Who to call, and how to register.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Sep 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Santa Barbara spans 6 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Santa Barbara residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Santa Barbara | ZIP’s residents in Santa Barbara |
|---|---|---|---|
| 93101 | Santa Barbara, CA | 34% | 100% |
| 93105 | Santa Barbara, CA | 24% | 80% |
| 93103 | Santa Barbara, CA | 22% | 100% |
| 93109 | Santa Barbara, CA | 12% | 100% |
| 93110 | Santa Barbara, CA | 5% | 29% |
| 93108 | Santa Barbara, CA | 2% | 14% |
A few homes fall in 93117. 93102, 93107, 93120, 93121, 93130, 93140, 93150, 93160, 93190 are P.O. box or single-organization ZIPs with no homes.
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.
Train: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors). ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Santa Barbara
When is the Marborg Recycling Center open?
Mon–Fri 8 am–4 pm, according to OpenStreetMap (as of Oct 9, 2026). Check marborg.com before you go: the town sets the hours and who may use it.
Who supplies Santa Barbara’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
City of Santa Barbara Water Department (EPA ID CA4210010). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 90% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 2.5 ppb (Jan 2024–Dec 2026), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Santa Barbara?
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 Santa Barbara?
Cox Communications, Frontier, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Santa Barbara?
93101 (34%), 93105 (24%), 93103 (22%), 93109 (12%), 93110 (5%), 93108 (2%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Santa Barbara in?
Santa Barbara Unified School District. Parts of the city are in Santa Barbara Unified School District (7-12) and Goleta Union Elementary School District and Hope Elementary School District.
How do I register to vote in Santa Barbara?
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: Santa Barbara’s own website (sustainability.santabarbaraca.gov, santabarbaraca.gov), read Oct 21, 2026, pickup and drop-off facts extracted and checked against the page they came from.
- 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.