California · Market data

Taxi and limousine market data for Santa Barbara County, CA

Santa Barbara County, CA supports 15 taxi and limousine businesses across 444,500 residents. Below: how those operators break down by size, how the market compares with its state and the country, and what the sector pays — all from the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns.

15
For-hire businesses
60
Sector employees
67%
Under 5 employees
3.37
Per 100,000 residents

Source: United States Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023.

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3 licensed hackney carriages and 12 private hire vehicles, a total of 15 licensed vehicles. Hackney carriages are 20.0 per cent of the licensed fleet.15licensed vehicles
3 hackney (20.0%)12 private hire

Key takeaways

  • Santa Barbara County, CA has 15 taxi and limousine businesses, ranking 88 of 348 published county markets.
  • The split is 3 taxi and ridesharing operators to 12 limousine operators.
  • 66.7 per cent of local operators employ fewer than five people.
  • That is 3.37 for-hire businesses per 100,000 residents, against a national median of 2.16.
  • The sector employs about 60 people locally.

Santa Barbara County, CA for-hire market in numbers

Every row is read from the federal business census, or is arithmetic over it. Derived rows show their working.

Taxi and limousine industry statistics for Santa Barbara County, CA, County Business Patterns 2023
MeasureSanta Barbara County
CountySanta Barbara County, CA
StateCalifornia
Residents (Census 2024 estimate)444,500
Taxi and limousine establishments15
Taxi and limousine employeesCensus noise flag G — approximate.60
Taxi and limousine annual payroll$2.2m
Taxi and ridesharing establishments3
Taxi and ridesharing employeesCensus noise flag J — approximate.1
Taxi and ridesharing annual payroll$97,000
Limousine establishments12
Limousine employeesCensus noise flag G — approximate.59
Limousine annual payroll$2.1m
Operators with 1-4 employees10
Operators with 5-9 employees3
Operators per 100,000 residentsderived15 establishments ÷ 444,500 residents × 100,000.3.37
Share of operators with fewer than 5 employeesderived10 of 15 establishments.66.7%
Annual payroll per employeederived$2.2m payroll ÷ 60 employees.$35,883
Taxi share of taxi-plus-limousine operatorsderived3 taxi ÷ 15 taxi and limousine establishments.20.0%
Rank among published US county marketsderivedBy taxi and limousine establishments.88 of 348

Source: United States Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023. About County Business Patterns.

How does Santa Barbara County, CA compare on operators per head?

Santa Barbara County, CA3.37California median1.93US median2.16
Taxi and limousine businesses per 100,000 residents — Santa Barbara County, CA against its state and the national medianbusinesses per 100,000 residents.

How big is the for-hire market in Santa Barbara County, CA?

Santa Barbara County, CA has 15 taxi and limousine businesses in the 2023 County Business Patterns, employing about 60 people — 3 in taxi and ridesharing services and 12 in limousine service.

With only a handful of operators, most local demand is met by a few known names, and word of mouth does most of the selling.

Are operators in Santa Barbara County, CA large fleets or owner-drivers?

66.7 per cent of operators in Santa Barbara County, CA employ fewer than five people, against a median of 67.1 per cent across the 348 published county markets.

Most operators employ fewer than five people, so buying decisions are made by an owner rather than a committee, and setup time matters more than configurability.

The full distribution: 10 with 1-4 employees and 3 with 5-9 employees.

Is Santa Barbara County, CA over- or under-served for for-hire vehicles?

Santa Barbara County, CA has 3.37 taxi and limousine businesses per 100,000 residents, against a national median of 2.16.

Operators per head sit above the national midpoint, so local demand supports more businesses than population alone would suggest.

Within California the median is 1.93 per 100,000, so this county is denser than its state norm.

What does the for-hire workforce in Santa Barbara County, CA cost?

Annual payroll works out at about $35,883 per employee across the sector in Santa Barbara County, CA.

That level of payroll means labour, not vehicles, is the dominant cost — so utilisation per paid hour is the number worth managing.

FAQ

Santa Barbara County, CA taxi market: common questions

How many taxi and limousine companies are there in Santa Barbara County, CA?
15 establishments in the 2023 County Business Patterns, of which 3 are classified as taxi and ridesharing services. CBP counts business locations rather than vehicles, and withholds detail where publishing it would identify an individual company.
Are taxi businesses in Santa Barbara County, CA mostly small?
66.7 per cent employ fewer than five people. The national median across published county markets is 67.1 per cent.
Is there room for another taxi operator in Santa Barbara County, CA?
Santa Barbara County, CA supports 3.37 for-hire businesses per 100,000 residents against a national median of 2.16. Density near the median means entry is viable but unremarkable — the differentiator is service, not supply.
Is Santa Barbara County, CA a taxi market or a limousine and black-car market?
3 operators are classified as taxi and ridesharing services and 12 as limousine service. Limousine and black-car businesses outnumber taxi businesses here, which points to pre-booked executive, event and airport work rather than street-hail demand.
What is the population of Santa Barbara County, CA?
444,500 residents in the Census Bureau's 2024 population estimate. Population is the denominator behind the per-100,000 comparisons on this page, and it is worth noting that a county serving an airport or a large visitor economy carries demand well beyond its resident count.

Markets comparable to Santa Barbara County

Closest by operator count, weighted towards the same state.

County markets with a comparable operator base to Santa Barbara County, CA
CountyOperatorsPer 100,000
Duval County, FL151.42
Barnstable County, MA156.45
Camden County, NJ152.81
Somerset County, NJ154.20
Albany County, NY154.69
Franklin County, OH151.11
Bexar County, TX150.70
Prince William County, VA153.02
New Castle County, DE142.38

Santa Barbara County, CA

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