[9] The Santa Barbara County area, including the Northern Channel Islands, was first settled by Native Americans at least 13,000 years ago.

For thousands of years, the area was home to the Chumash tribe of Native Americans, complex hunter-gatherers who lived along the coast and in interior valleys leaving rock art in many locations, including Painted Cave.

Europeans first contacted the Chumash in AD 1542, when three Spanish ships under the command of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo explored the area.

Spanish ships associated with the Manila Galleon trade probably made emergency stops along the coast during the next 167 years, but no permanent settlements were established.

This last undeveloped stretch of Southern California coastline consists of dramatic bluffs, isolated beaches and terraced grasslands.

North of the mountains is the arid and sparsely populated Cuyama Valley, portions of which are in San Luis Obispo and Ventura Counties.

Oil production, ranching, and agriculture dominate the land use in the privately owned parts of the Cuyama Valley; the Los Padres National Forest is adjacent to the south, and regions to the north and northeast are owned by the Bureau of Land Management and the Nature Conservancy.

Heavy rainfall occurred the following January, causing massive mudslides and debris flows from the steep, fire-denuded hillsides.

[20] Air quality in the county, unlike much of southern California, is generally good because of the prevailing winds off of the Pacific Ocean.

There were 181,687 residents of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race (42.9%); 38.5% of the population was of Mexican heritage, 0.4% Salvadoran, 0.4% Guatemalan, and 0.3% Puerto Rican descent.

All of Santa Barbara County is located within California's 24th congressional district, represented by Democrat Salud Carbajal.

North of the Santa Ynez Mountains, agricultural activities and oil development have long provided jobs.

The southern portion of Santa Barbara county has had an economy based on tourism, with a significant percentage of people with white-collar jobs, formerly in aerospace but more recently in software and other high-tech pursuits.

The southern portion of the county has a strong history of left-wing activism, with anti-war protests common in Santa Barbara.

[46] On November 4, 2008, Santa Barbara County voted 53.5% against Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.

Then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed a formation commission to research the viability of the proposed northern county, which reached the conclusion, stated in its final report released on March 28, 2005, that "the proposed County, upon formation in 2006, would not be economically viable at current levels of service.

The cities that the Sheriff's Office provides police services for include Buellton, Carpinteria, Goleta and Solvang.

[58] Founded in 1850, the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office is the oldest law enforcement agency in the state.

Initially having a single Sheriff, aided only by a jailer and guard in charge of the chain gang, the department now has over 600 full-time employees.

The largest spill in California waters, credited as a spark for the modern environmental movement, coated the beaches and Santa Barbara Harbor with a thick crude in 1969.

White-collar jobs, previously with an emphasis in aerospace but more recently in software and other high-tech pursuits are encouraged by proximity to the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Vandenberg Space Force Base has traditionally had a large economic impact in the northern portion of the county and continues to be the site of frequent satellite launches.

The region, also noted for its Chardonnay wines, is gaining a reputation for Rhone varietals including Syrah and Viognier.

The Cambria Estate Winery, was featured in the 3rd episode of The Bachelor, an American reality television series, Season 15, on January 17, 2011.

[70] Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are common all long the trail while the southern part also has many Rhone style wines due to the warmer climate.

Local governments may not prohibit adults, who are in compliance with state laws, from growing, using, or transporting marijuana for personal use.

[80] The owners of many greenhouses in the Carpinteria Valley, that were built as nurseries for flowers and other plants, have converted them to growing cannabis.

[92] The Museum of Natural History[93] offers immersive exhibits on regional wildlife and environments, along with a state-of-the-art planetarium.

The Santa Barbara Historical Museum provides deep insights into the city's past with its extensive archives and artifacts.

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 United States census of Santa Barbara County.