Santa Ynez ( ; Spanish for "St. Agnes", originally spelled ''Santa Inés'') is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in the Santa Ynez Valley of

Santa Barbara County, California Santa Barbara County, officially the County of Santa Barbara (), is a County (United States), county located in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, 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 A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP). Santa Ynez is the archaic spelling of ''Santa Inés'' in the Spanish, meaning Saint Agnes. The Santa Ynez Airport is

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

with a paved runway.

Geography

Santa Ynez is located at . According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , 99.86% of it land, and 0.14% of it covered by water. Santa Ynez is located about north of Santa Barbara, California, and is known for its world-class wineries.

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above . According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Santa Ynez has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, abbreviated ''Csb'' on climate maps.

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Santa Ynez had a population of 4,505. The population density was . The racial makeup of Santa Ynez was 80.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.7%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.5% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 4.6% from other races, and 11.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.2% of the population. The census reported that 98.7% of the population lived in households, 1.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized. There were 1,762 households, out of which 25.0% included children under the age of 18, 60.7% were married-couple households, 5.7% were cohabiting couple households, 20.7% had a female householder with no partner present, and 13.0% had a male householder with no partner present. 21.9% of households were one person, and 12.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.52. There were 1,281

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(72.7% of all households). The age distribution was 17.9% under the age of 18, 6.3% aged 18 to 24, 17.7% aged 25 to 44, 30.4% aged 45 to 64, and 27.7% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 51.9years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. There were 1,863 housing units at an average density of , of which 1,762 (94.6%) were occupied. Of these, 72.4% were owner-occupied, and 27.6% were occupied by renters. In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $117,500, and the

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

was $64,240. About 9.1% of families and 11.3% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

At the 2010 census Santa Ynez had a population of 4,418. The population density was . The racial makeup of Santa Ynez was 3,797 (85.9%) White, 12 (0.3%) African American, 234 (5.3%) Native American, 51 (1.2%) Asian, 4 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 147 (3.3%) from other races, and 173 (3.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 639 people (14.5%). The whole population lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and no one was institutionalized. There were 1,741 households, 524 (30.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,052 (60.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 137 (7.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 81 (4.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 82 (4.7%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 18 (1.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 367 households (21.1%) were one person and 186 (10.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.54. There were 1,270 families (72.9% of households); the average family size was 2.91. The age distribution was 916 people (20.7%) under the age of 18, 280 people (6.3%) aged 18 to 24, 785 people (17.8%) aged 25 to 44, 1,559 people (35.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 878 people (19.9%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 47.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males. There were 1,886 housing units at an average density of , of which 1,327 (76.2%) were owner-occupied, and 414 (23.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 11.3%. 3,434 people (77.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 984 people (22.3%) lived in rental housing units. The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians, a

federally recognized This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes are legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States.

Chumash tribe is headquartered in Santa Ynez. They operate the local Chumash Casino Resort.

Government

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...

, Santa Ynez is in , and in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, Santa Ynez is in .

Notable people

* Jan Barrett (1939–1973) –

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

player * Tyler Boyd (born 1994) – soccer player who represented the United States national team * John Corbett (born 1961) – actor and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer * Bob Falkenburg (1926–2022) – tennis player and entrepreneur *

John Forsythe John Lincoln Forsythe ( Freund; January 29, 1918 – April 1, 2010) was an American stage, film/television actor, producer, narrator, drama teacher and philanthropist whose career spanned six decades. He also appeared as a guest on several t ...

(1918–2010) – stage and film/television actor, producer, and narrator * Ed Fitz Gerald (1924–2020) –

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) player * Marty Paich (1925–1995) – pianist, composer, arranger, record producer, music director, and conductor * Ralph Story (1920–2006) – television and radio personality

References

External links

Santa Ynez Valley NewsSanta Ynez Valley Online News and Information
{{authority control Census-designated places in Santa Barbara County, California Santa Ynez Valley Census-designated places in California