City profile · California · Census ACS 2023

Isla Vista, CA

Isla Vista's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

13,717
Residents
$24,428
Median income
$1,241,700
Median home
$2,053
Median rent (state)
View my watchlist

Compare or rank this city

Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.

Compare with another city

Starting with Isla Vista, CA - add up to three more cities on the compare page.

See how it ranks

State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for Isla Vista.

Place dossier plate

Sheet CA-ISLA-VISTA-CA · Isla Vista, CA 13,717 pop · income 1st pct

POP-TOWN · INC-LOW · COL-ABOVE · SAFE-UNK · RANK-BOTTOM · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-TOP · BOOK-UNK

  • POP-TOWN 13,717
  • INC-LOW $24,428
  • COL-ABOVE 110.7
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-BOTTOM 1st
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Alamo
  • HOME-TOP $1,241,700
  • BOOK-UNK Tracts pending

Nearest income peer: Alamo, NM ( $1 income $)

Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.

Income neighbourhood around Isla Vista

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Isla Vista on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Isla Vista on ACS population and median household income . Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.

Similar population

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 13,717.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $24,428. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Isla Vista - the verdict

Isla Vista ranks in the 1st percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.

1st
percentile, household income
99th
percentile, home value
88th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this

Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.

Data Snapshot: Isla Vista, CA

13,717 people live in Isla Vista, California - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Isla Vista households earn a median of $24,428 annually, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 6.7%. Typical homes in Isla Vista are valued around $1,241,700, and the median resident age is 21.2 years. 40.8% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 49.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

California carries a cost-of-living premium: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, California scores 110.7 (Well Above Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $2,053 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts California's average monthly utility costs around $275 (state average). The average commute for Isla Vista workers runs 14.5 minutes, with 50.6% driving alone and 8.3% working from home. Natural-hazard exposure scores 88.7 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very High).

A decision-led reading path

Useful questions to ask of Isla Vista's data

How this reading path is ordered

This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from housing and income to comparison shortlist to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For Isla Vista, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares. No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits, matched public-school count, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.

Question 1

How far does income reach against housing in Isla Vista?

The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 50.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 6.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.

This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.

Compare the housing trade-off →

Question 2

Which cities make useful reference points for Isla Vista?

Within California, the closest population matches are Auburn (13,758 residents, $77,760 income); Oak Park (13,656 residents, $160,484 income); Hawaiian Gardens (13,816 residents, $76,025 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Cayce, SC (13,718 residents); Plover, WI (13,713 residents); Ephrata, PA (13,729 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.

Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

3. Work and mobility

What does the journey to work look like in Isla Vista?

Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 50.6%. The reported mean trip to work is 14.5 minutes.

Compare commute patterns →

Population

13,717 residents

Small city (10k–49k)

Median Household Income

$24,428 /yr

Lowest-decile income · poverty 6.7% (Below-median poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

110.7 (US=100)

Highest-decile cost · BEA RPP 2024, California average

City profile score · Isla Vista, CA

29/100

4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023

Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians (income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.

Bachelor's+ share B+
40.8%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.

Poverty rate C-
6.7%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.

Cost of living F
110.7 index

BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.

Household income F
$24,428

Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.

Violent crime N/A
N/A

No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).

Isla Vista profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Bachelor's+ share, Poverty rate, Cost of living, Household income. Bachelor's+ sharePoverty rateCost of livingHousehold income 29 F
Isla Vista profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Bachelor's+ share: 76/100 (B+) · 40.8%
  • Poverty rate: 54/100 (C-) · 6.7%
  • Cost of living: 6/100 (F) · 110.7 index
  • Household income: 0/100 (F) · $24,428

How does Isla Vista compare to other US cities?

Isla Vista measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.

Household income 1% higher than other cities
Home value 99% pricier than other cities
Median rent 88% pricier than other cities

"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.

How we calculate these percentiles & ranks

Each percentile compares Isla Vista against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to California only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.

California-relative analysis

Median Gross Rent places Isla Vista near the bottom of California's cities

Among the 1,458 California cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Isla Vista ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Isla Vista only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#1,334 of 1,338
0th percentile in California
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,458
0th percentile in California
Median Home Value
#136 of 1,343
90th percentile in California
Poverty Rate
#711 of 1,450
51st percentile in California
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#411 of 1,458
72nd percentile in California
How in-state ranks are ordered

Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within California only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.

1stIncome percentile
Gauge source note

1st percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Isla Vista's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$1,241,700 1st percentile more affordable than 1% of 15,600 US cities

Show national distribution $0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Below this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Below this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). This entry sits in this band. Isla Vista $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023

Isla Vista's home-value-to-income ratio: 50.8×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#15,516 of 15,516
More affordable than 0% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#3,317 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)

At 50.8×, Isla Vista sits in the pressured band: national rank #15,516 of 15,516 and #3,317 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999). Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.

How this ratio is calculated

Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000. Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0). This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.

Income distribution context

$24,428 Isla Vista, CA median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Isla Vista, CA Isla Vista, CA's median household income ($24,428) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Isla Vista, CA-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Isla Vista, CA median $24,428/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
Isla Vista, CA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Isla Vista, CA.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 40.8%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 6.7%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 49.2%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
13,717
Median Income
$24,428
Median Home Value
$1,241,700
Median Age
21.2
Poverty Rate
6.7%
Labor force participation
49.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
40.8%

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Average Commute Time
14.5 minutes
Drive Alone
50.6%
Carpool
4.6%
Public Transit
3.5%
Walk
17.2%
Work from Home
8.3%
Other
15.8%

Based on 6,366 workers 16 and over.

Monthly Utility Costs

California statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $275

EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across California at $275 (electricity about $150 , water and sewer about $70 ).

These are California statewide averages, not a meter reading for Isla Vista. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.

Living Costs & Risk

California's BEA cost-of-living index is 110.7 (Well Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Isla Vista is $2,053/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to California statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 88.7 / 100 (Very High).

Cost/risk geography note

Cost of living is a California statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Isla Vista sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Isla Vista compares to similar-size California cities

Same-state peer method

Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.

City Population Median Household Income
Isla Vista (this city) 13,717 $24,428
Auburn 13,758 $77,760
Oak Park 13,656 $160,484
Hawaiian Gardens 13,816 $76,025
Primary sources on this page

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

Browse all city profiles → · Explore city rankings →

Verify with HUD →

Verify with FBI →

Verify with NOAA →

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau →

Verify with EPA →

Verify with FEMA →

Verify with BEA →

Verify with EIA →

Verify with NCES →

Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Share or download this profile