Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,467, settled in 1863. Public schools that outperform most of California.
The typical home is worth about $1.9 million, 18.9 years of the Santa Maria metro’s $98K median household income. Overall it grades B−, 214th among California's 841 graded towns. Its schools outperform 81% of the state's. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 91% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Santa Ynez’s typical home value is $1,855,000, where California’s towns sit at $709,000 and U.S. towns at $332,000. Santa Ynez is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 72% of U.S. towns.
Where Santa Ynez beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Ynez Valley Charter | K–8 | 189 |
| Santa Ynez Elementary | 1–8 | 147 |
| College Elementary | K | 28 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Santa Ynez is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,335 in 1980, 4,505 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1982 and 4 maps from 1942 on.
Santa Ynez is unincorporated, so Santa Barbara County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Santa Ynez.
Santa Ynez owes part of its health edge to its incomes and pairs an A− for schools with high home prices, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of California.
At 18.9 years of the Santa Maria metro’s $98K median household income, the typical home (about $1.86M) costs more against local pay than in 96% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $8,542, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Typical home values rose 7.9% in the year to September 2026. The typical Santa Ynez home is worth about $1,855,000, up 7.9% in a year, more than twice the California typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A− for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.86M.
Its public schools are run by the Santa Ynez Valley Union High school district. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Santa Ynez Valley Union High, with 801 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Ynez Valley CharterLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 189 | B |
| Santa Ynez Valley Union HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 801 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
8.1 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Santa Ynez’s trail density is 1.7 miles per square mile.
| Santa Ynez | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.7 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.1% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Santa Ynez Chumash Museum and Cultural Center | 0.1 mi | 6 |
| 2. Santa Ynez Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 7,016 U.S. towns with household incomes like Santa Ynez’s, it is less healthy than 54%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Santa Ynez beats the California average on 13 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 26% of Santa Ynez adults have obesity.
| Santa Ynez | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 29% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 35% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 31% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 36% | 33% |
| What stands out | Santa Ynez | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.2% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9% | 14.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.2% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Santa Ynez has mild winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. The July high in Santa Ynez is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 24% of residents (16% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 30% of residents (39% statewide). 19% of residents are under 18 in Santa Ynez. 33% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 37% across California.
| Santa Ynez | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 37.8 years | 39.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 29% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.5 points. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Santa Ynez | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.3% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 13.6% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.8% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.1% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.5% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.8% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.4% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.5% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.5% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 13.5% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 30.5% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.2% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.4% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,500, single groups can be off by several points
Jobs based here grew from 883 in 2013 to 1,354.
Most working residents leave Santa Ynez for work: only 9% work in town. Since 2013, Santa Ynez has added 471 jobs, to 1,354 in 2023. The top destinations are Santa Barbara (14%), Solvang (10%) and Goleta (5%).
| Santa Ynez | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $111,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.4% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
None within 15 miles of Santa Ynez; the nearest are
About 10 of every 100 Santa Ynez residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Place in California, United States
Santa Ynez ( ee-NEZ; Spanish for "St. Agnes", originally spelled Santa Inés) is an unincorporated community in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. The population was 4,505 at the 2020 census, up from 4,418 at the 2010 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Santa Ynez as a census-designated place (CDP). Santa Ynez is the archaic spelling of Santa Inés in the Spanish, meaning Saint Agnes. The Santa Ynez Airport is general aviation with a paved 2,804 by 75 feet (855 m × 23 m) runway.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Santa Ynez.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Ynez | #214 | B− | D− | — | A− | B+ |
| Ballard | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Solvang | #77 | B+ | D− | B+ | A | A− |
Santa Ynez reports no FBI crime data of its own. Ballard isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Santa Ynez with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Santa Ynez grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #214 of 841 in California. It grades B+ for health and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.