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Santa Barbara County, California
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on 12% of Santa Barbara County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 4%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. The soil survey maps 51% of the county's land area; these shares describe the mapped part.
None of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 405 flood losses here since 2016, 14% of them in buildings with basements. 60% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1974.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
in drought, October 13, 2026
of homes built before 1980
Soil under Santa Barbara County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 12.4% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 4.3% |
| Septic fields very limited | 77.6% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 3.2% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 11.1% |
| Mapped soil | 900,202 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Chamise | 6% | n/a |
| Shedd | 5% | n/a |
| Maymen | 4% | n/a |
| Arnold | 4% | n/a |
| Lodo | 3% | n/a |
| Kettleman | 2% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas CA672 (2025-09-08), CA673 (2025-09-02)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 26.69 in, 7.76 in above the 1991-2020 average year of 18.93 in.
USDA rates 78% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 12% and a shallow water table on 4% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Santa Barbara County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
0% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. Part of the county was in drought in 4 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 40.4% of its area, in 2 weeks, most recently on the October 14, 2025 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 0% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 0% |
| D2 severe or worse | 0% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
405 flood losses since 2016, $23.5 million paid. The worst year was 2018, with 183. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 14% basements, 54% slabs, 27% crawl spaces, 6% elevated. Median water depth outside the building: 12 in.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 10 |
| 2017 | 20 |
| 2018 | 183 |
| 2019 | 22 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 3 |
| 2022 | 10 |
| 2023 | 128 |
| 2024 | 20 |
| 2025 | 8 |
| 2026 to date | 1 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 18.93 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 26.69 in (+7.76) |
| 2025 | 25.28 in (+6.35) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1941: 42.25 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 2013: 3.94 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at CACHUMA LAKE (4 mi away) | 6.1 |
Homes
| Housing units | 160,592 |
| Median year built | 1974 |
| Built before 1980 | 60% |
| Built 2000 or later | 16% |
| Owner-occupied | 52% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $790,700 |
| Single-family detached | 56% |
What repairs cost
Published ranges from cost guides, not quotes. More sources, and where they disagree.
Nearby counties
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County, CA | 53 mi | 12% | 4% |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 63 mi | 17% | 1% |
| Kern County, CA | 94 mi | 6% | 1% |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 104 mi | 4% | under 1% |
| Kings County, CA | 107 mi | 32% | 33% |
| Tulare County, CA | 137 mi | 14% | 1% |
| Monterey County, CA | 138 mi | 15% | 2% |
| Orange County, CA | 142 mi | 14% | 3% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (September 8, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status