Santa Barbara County Community Dashboard

About the Dashboard

The Santa Barbara County Community Dashboard is a community-led, online platform designed to provide a comprehensive view of key indicators impacting the wellbeing of Santa Barbara County. Beginning with critical areas like Stable & Affordable Housing and Economic Security, this dashboard will track essential metrics across multiple sectors. It equips residents, policymakers, nonprofit organizations, and funders with the real-time data needed to understand community progress and challenges.

Community dashboards, like this one, use data visualizations, reports, and other resources to illustrate trends, identify areas of need, and prioritize actions that enhance overall outcomes. With seed funding from the Santa Barbara Foundation, the dashboard represents a collective commitment to building a healthier, more resilient Santa Barbara County.

Learn more about the LegacyWorks Dashboard Enterprise at Data-dashboarding.

Purpose

Empower communities with the real-time information needed to make decisions and take action to affect positive change. 

Goals

• Drive effective data-driven decision-making

• Communicate prioritized community wellbeing metrics and trends 

• Strengthen collaboration based on openness, honesty, and respect

• Bolster key community organizations’ capacities, tool chests, communication resources, efficacy and public confidence 

• Build community data literacy and sense-making skills for complex systemic and acute challenges 

• Build capacity for navigating challenges, crises, and opportunities collaboratively

• Identify and address community needs and vulnerabilities

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This collaborative project empowers our community to make informed decisions,
assess the impact of programs and policies, and drive positive change with transparency and accountability.

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Status

February 2025: We started Phase 1, where we started to develop a framework for collective impact. To see the slides from the Kick-Off meeting, click here:

Slides from Dashboard Kick-Off Meeting on February 24, 2025

During Phase 0 we completed interviews with 22 community leaders and summarized the key findings.

Download the summary: Setting the Table: Summary of Partner Interviews SBC Community Dashboard

Proposed Focus Areas

Focus areas will likely fall within one of these broad wellbeing categories:

• Health

• Shelter

• Food

• Economics

• Education

• Safety

• Families

• Environment

• Community

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Existing Dashboards, Data Sets, and Resources

This list is a shared resource, and we welcome your contributions. Please send additional resources to Amelia at amelia (at) legacyworksgroup.com.

Many thanks to the partners who have contributed!

Economic Security - Local dashboards, data sets, and resources

• Carpinteria Valley Economic Profile (2023)

• Cottage Data2Go

• County of Santa Barbara Crop Reports 

• County of Santa Barbara Agricultural Production Report (2022)

• County of Santa Barbara - Fiscal Year Recommended Budget 2023-2024

• Health Matters in Ventura County - Community Health Dashboards *

• Living Wage Calculation for Santa Barbara County, California

• Pacific Coast Business Times - “Central Coast Best Places to Work” 2023

• Santa Barbara County Nonprofit Map

• South Coast Data Dashboard by South Coast Chamber of Commerce *

• State of the Non-Profit Sector by Santa Barbara Foundation 

• UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast Project 

• UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast Project - Community Indicators 

• U.S. News - Explore Santa Barbara County’s Health 

• Ventura County Civic Alliance - 2023 State of the Region Report 

Economic Security - State dashboards, data sets, and resources

• Bay Area Equity Atlas - Bay Area Recovery Dollars Tracker

• California’s Black-Led Organizations’ Directory

• California Budget & Policy Center - Understanding the Governor’s Proposed 2023-24 State Budget (2023) 

• Cal Matters - Hunger in California 

• CalWORKS Dashboard *

• Center on Policy Initiatives 

• Families Out of Poverty (2023)

• Public Policy Institute of California - Poverty Varies Across California’s Regions 2023

• Public Policy Institute of California - Pandemic-Era CalFresh Expansions Lifted Many 

• Race Counts 

• The State of Black California (2024)

• United Way - The Real Cost Measure in California 

• United Ways of California - The Real Cost Measure in California 2023 

• University of California Berkeley - The Multilayered Effects of Racism on Early Educators in California (2024) 

  State News & Stories

• Noozhawk - “A Catastrophic Hunger Crisis? California Food Banks are Being Flooded by Families Seeking Help” (2023) 

Economic Security - National dashboards, data sets, and resources

• Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance

• Brookings - Local Government ARPA Investment Tracker 

• Brookings - Safety Net Interactive (2024)  

• The Center for Effective Philanthropy - State of Nonprofits (2024)  

• Council on Foundations - CF Insights Survey Results (2023)  

• Feeding America - Map the Meal Gap  

• Latino Data Hub *   

• National Equity Atlas (2019)  

• The National Study on Donor Advised Funds 2024   

• Prosperity Institute - The Legatum Prosperity Index (2023)  

• Results for America - The Economic Mobility Catalog (2022)  

• The Rockefeller Foundation - The True Cost of Food in the U.S.

• Urban Institute - Upward Mobility Framework  

• Urban Institute - Upward Mobility Data Dashboard *   

• Urban Institute - Nonprofit Trends and Impacts Study  

• United States Census Bureau Data 2020  

• United States Census Bureau - American Community Survey Data (2021)  

• United States Census Bureau - My Community Explorer (2021)  

• United States Census Bureau - Migration Patterns  

• United States Census Bureau - Census Survey Explorer  

• United States Bureau of Labor Statistics  

• United States Bureau of Labor Statistics - Employment and Wages Data Viewer  

• United States Department of Agriculture - Food Security in the U.S.  

• United States Department of the Treasury - The Economics of Child Care Supply in the United States (2021)  

  National News & Stories

• The New York Times Magazine - “Why Poverty Persists in America” (2023)  

Safe and Affordable Housing - Local dashboards, data sets, and resources

• Average Unit-size Density (AUD) Incentive Program Progress Report (2023)  

• Community Data Dashboard Homeless Management Information System by County of Santa Barbara *  

• Housing Affordability Report by Santa Barbara Foundation  

• Housing Affordability in the South Coast by Santa Barbara Association of Realtors  

• Housing Element Update 2023-2031 by County of Santa Barbara  

• Santa Barbara County Covid-19 Impact Report by Santa Barbara Foundation and Workforce Development Board of Santa Barbara County  

• Santa Barbara County Interactive Housing Element Map  

• Santa Barbara County - Point In Time Count  

• Santa Barbara County Affordable Housing Resource Guide by Housing Santa Barbara  

• U.S. News - Explore Santa Barbara County’s Health  

• U.S. Census - How Many People Live in Santa Barbara County, California  

Local News & Stories

• Santa Barbara Independent - “Wage Rent Gap for Millennials Living in Mid-Size Cities Highest in Santa Barbara Area” (2022)  

• Santa Barbara Independent - “County of Santa Barbara Awarded $6 Million to Move People Out of Encampments and into Housing” (2023)  

• Santa Barbara Independent - “Santa Barbara Homelessness Report: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back” (2023)  

• Santa Barbara Independent - “Caught in the Rental Crunch: Our Readers Speak Out on the Struggles of Renting in Santa Barbara” (2022)  

• EdHat - “South Coast Housing Forum Explores Challenges and Collaborations for Shared Community” (2023)  

• EdHat - “Santa Barbara Ranks 4th in Most Expensive Rent for Students” (2023)  

• Noozhawk- “Santa Barbara County Agency Using Electronic Smartphone Data for Transportation, Housing Plans” (2024)  

• Noozhawk - “Santa Barbara County Supervisors Ask for More Affordable Housing at Meeting with Developers” (2024)  

• Noozhawk - “Rob Fredericks: Santa Barbara Housing Authority Rebuts ‘Misconceptions,’ Highlights Efforts to Meet Local Needs” (2024) 

Safe and Affordable Housing - State dashboards, data sets, and resources

• Bay Area Equity Atlas - Bay Area Recovery Dollars Tracker   

• California Budget & Policy Center - Understanding Homelessness in California & What Can Be Done (2023)   

• California Budget & Policy Center - Who is Experiencing Homelessness in California? (2023)   

• California Department of Housing and Community Development - Annual Progress Reports - Data Dashboard and Downloads *   

• California Housing Partnership - Who Can Afford to Rent in California’s Many Regions? (2022)   

• California Interactive Broadband Map (2021)   

• California Interagency Council on Homelessness - Action Plan for Preventing and Ending Homelessness in California 2025-2027   

• California Realtor’s Association - Housing Data   

• California State Library - Homeless Youth Project Publication   

• The California Homeless Housing Needs Assessment  

• Housing California - Housing & Homelessness: 2022-23 State Budget Summary & Analysis    

• Housing Permitting Activity and Streamlined Ministerial Approval Process (SB35) Determination (2023)   

• Legislative Analyst’s Office - The 2023-24 Budget: Updates on Recent Housing and Homelessness Augmentations and Overview of Proposed Budget Changes   

• Los Angeles Almanac - Median Home Sales Prices Southern California, 1990-2025   

• Metropolitan Transportation Commission - Housing Production, Preservation, & Protection in the Bay Area   

• National Low Income Housing Coalition - 2023 California Housing Profile   

• The State of Black California (2024)   

• Race Counts   

• Single Family Housing Rentals   

• State of California (BCSH) - Homeless Data Integration System (2023)   

• State of California - E-8 Historical Population and Housing Estimates for Cities, Counties, and the State, 2010-2020   

• University of California San Francisco - California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (2023)   

• Ventura County Civic Alliance - 2023 State of the Region Report   

Safe and Affordable Housing - National dashboards, data sets, and resources

• Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance  

• Bill Track 50 - State and Federal Legislation Search Engine     

• Brookings - Local Government ARPA Investment Tracker  

• Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University - The State of the Nation’s Housing 2023  

• IPUMS - National Historical Geographic Information System  

• Latino Data Hub * 

• National Equity Atlas (2019)  

• National Equity Atlas - Tracking California’s Rent Relief Program (2020)   

• National Low Income Housing Coalition - Out of Reach 2022  

• Office of Policy Development and Research - Consolidated Planning/CHAS Data  

• Policy Engine     

• Prosperity Institute - The Legatum Prosperity Index (2023)  

• United States Census Bureau Data (2020)  

• United States Census Bureau - American Community Survey Data (2021)  

• United States Census Bureau - Census Survey Explorer  

• Urban Institute - Upward Mobility Framework  

• Urban Institute - Upward Mobility Data Dashboard *   

• United States Census Bureau - 1990s: County Tables  

• United States Census Bureau - County Population by Characteristics: 2010-2020  

• United States Census Bureau - County Population by Characteristics: 2020-2023  

• United States Census Bureau - County Intercensal Datasets: 1970-1979  

• United States Census Bureau - County Intercensal Datasets: 1980-1990  

• United States Census Bureau - County Intercensal Datasets: 2000-2010  

• United States Census Bureau. 2020 Census, Summary File 1. Table H2: Urban and Rural Housing Units 

  National News & Stories

• CalMatters - “K-12 enrollment: Does the Increase in Homeless Students Indicate a Worsening Trend?” (2023)

• The New York Times Magazine - “Why Poverty Persists in America” (2023) 

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Contact Us to Learn More

Santa Barbara Foundation mobilizes collective wisdom and philanthropic capital to build empathetic, inclusive and resilient communities.

LegacyWorks Central Coast California, is a 501(c)3 non-profit consulting group based in Santa Barbara. Moving forward, together.

Contact: Melissa Fontaine, melissa at legacyworksgroup.com

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