Santa Barbara County is located on the Pacific coast of Southern California. Right between Los Angeles and San Francisco, Santa Barbara County is considered one of America’s best kept secrets.

Santa Barbara County was founded in 1850 as one of the original counties of California. Until 1873, part of Ventura County was included within Santa Barbara County. San Miguel Island, Anacapa Island, Santa Cruz Island and Santa Rosa Island are Channel Islands located in Santa Barbara County.

The County has 23 incorporated cities: Buellton, Goleta, Los Alamos, Santa Barbara, Toro Canyon, Carpinteria, Guadalupe, Mission Canyon, Santa Maria, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Cuyama, Hollister Ranch, Mission Hills, Santa Ynez, Vandenberg Village, Garey, Hope Ranch, Montecito, Solvang, Gaviota, Lompoc, Orcutt and Summerland.

The cities throughout the county offer a wide variety of attractions. The city of Santa Barbara is one of the favorite spot for vacations in Southern California. The beautiful little city of Solvang is a real Danish village with European architecture. In the heart of Wine Country, Santa Maria is a charming city to enjoy wine tasting.

With 21,000 acres of vine and more than 60 wineries, Santa Barbara County is the first ranked agricultural crop. In 2004, the movie Sideways brought worldwide attention to the wine area of Santa Barbara.

Politics / Economy
Santa Barbara County is politically and economically divided in two areas. The conservative north of Santa Ynez Mountains area has the economy based on agricultural activities. The South is focused on tourism and its population is considered liberal.

The main engines of economic growth in the county are the University of California, Santa Barbara, spawning numerous high technology start-ups in the area, agriculture, and tourism.

For a detailed look at the Santa Barbara economy and marketing opportunities check the following resources:

www.ucsb-efp.com/Downloads/Presentations/
handouts_2008.aspx

www.sbchamber.org/business/economics.html

SOHO Prospecting provides Santa Barbara County Marketing Services for Small Companies as well as large corporations. We evaluate your target market in Santa Barbara County for an Internet Marketing Promotion and Advertising plan created specific for your needs.