Warm-summer Mediterranean
Santa Maria, California
Santa Barbara County, California · Population 110k · 223 ft elevation
Living in Santa Maria
Santa Maria has a warm-summer mediterranean climate: pleasantly warm summers (July highs around 73°F) and mild winters (January lows around 41°F).
Precipitation is dry at about 13″ a year, and it essentially never sees snow.
Skies are exceptionally sunny (83% of possible sunshine). It never gets truly muggy.
Air quality is poor: a median AQI of 52 and virtually no unhealthy-air days.
There is plenty to explore outdoors around Santa Maria: about 24% of the land within 30 miles is public (parks, national forest and the like), and the terrain rises and falls about 2,800 ft around town.
Santa Maria at a glance
- Population
- 110k
- Elevation
- 223 ft
- Average daily high
- 70°F63th percentile
- Average daily low
- 48°F62th percentile
- Annual precipitation
- 13″6th percentile
- Annual snowfall
- 0″0th percentile
- Sunshine hours per year
- 3,728 hrs96th percentile
- Median AQI
- 5286th percentile
- Median home value
- $478k80th percentile
- Median rent
- $1,842/mo82th percentile
- Median household income
- $85k61th percentile
- Property tax rate
- 0.68%24th percentile
- Top state income-tax rate
- 13.3%
- Sales tax (state + local)
- 8.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.1%
- Homes with broadband
- 90%43th percentile
- Walkability index
- 14.192th percentile
- Average commute
- 22 min
- Math proficiency (8th grade)
- 27%19th percentile
- Reading proficiency (8th grade)
- 35%
- Violent crime rate
- 624 per 100k92th percentile
- Property crime rate
- 1,813 per 100k
- Overall natural-hazard risk
- 9986th percentile
- Outdoor access
- 8181th percentile
- Public land within 10 miles
- 1%
- Public land within 30 miles
- 24%
- Mountain relief within 30 miles
- 2,789 ft
Climate by month
| Month | High | Low | Precipitation | Snow | Sunshine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 65°F | 41°F | 2.7″ | — | 229 hrs |
| Feb | 65°F | 43°F | 2.9″ | — | 220 hrs |
| Mar | 66°F | 44°F | 2.6″ | — | 284 hrs |
| Apr | 68°F | 46°F | 0.9″ | — | 319 hrs |
| May | 69°F | 49°F | 0.4″ | — | 379 hrs |
| Jun | 71°F | 52°F | 0.1″ | — | 401 hrs |
| Jul | 73°F | 55°F | 0.0″ | — | 406 hrs |
| Aug | 74°F | 55°F | 0.0″ | — | 384 hrs |
| Sep | 75°F | 54°F | 0.1″ | — | 341 hrs |
| Oct | 75°F | 50°F | 0.5″ | — | 301 hrs |
| Nov | 70°F | 44°F | 1.1″ | — | 248 hrs |
| Dec | 64°F | 40°F | 2.0″ | — | 217 hrs |
Near Santa Maria
- Orcutt, CA · 31k
- Nipomo, CA · 17k
- Guadalupe, CA · 8.4k
- Callender, CA · 2.8k
- Vandenberg AFB, CA · 3.7k
- Oceano, CA · 7.1k
- Vandenberg Village, CA · 6.8k
- Arroyo Grande, CA · 18k
Largest places in California
- Los Angeles, CA · 3.9M
- San Diego, CA · 1.4M
- San Jose, CA · 990k
- San Francisco, CA · 836k
- Fresno, CA · 544k
- Sacramento, CA · 525k
- Long Beach, CA · 458k
- Oakland, CA · 438k
Sources: NOAA climate normals, NASA POWER, EPA air quality, U.S. Census Bureau, FEMA, FBI, EPA walkability and EDFacts. Methodology