Homeownership builds wealth that passes across generations. A home is typically the largest asset a family owns, and homeownership rates on the Central Coast in 2021 fell along racial lines. Sixty-six percent of white households in San Luis Obispo County owned their homes, compared to fewer than half of Latinx households. In Santa Barbara County, 35 percent of Black households and 40 percent of Latinx households owned homes, compared to roughly 60 percent of white households. These gaps have persisted since 1980.

Homeownership rates across the three counties remained relatively stable between 1980 and 2021, with white households owning at the highest rates and Black and Latinx households owning at the lowest rates. In San Luis Obispo County, Asian American homeownership rose from 48 percent in 2000 to 61 percent in 2021, a shift not seen among Black or Latinx households. Ventura County had the highest overall homeownership rate in the region, with white and Asian American households owning at rates above 60 percent and Black and Latinx households owning at rates below 50 percent.

The homeownership gap reflects the region’s wage gaps and housing costs documented elsewhere on this site. When wages are lower and housing costs are higher, few families can save enough for a down payment. The homeownership gap compounds across generations. Owning a home builds equity that families can pass down. Renting does not.

Insights & Analyses: San Luis Obispo County

• In San Luis Obispo, about 66 percent of white households owned their home. Between 1980 and 2021, rates of homeownership among white residents remained consistently higher. The percent of Asian American households who owned a home increased between 2000 and 2021 from 48 percent to 61 percent in San Luis Obispo County. Latinx households in San Luis Obispo County have the lowest homeownership rates through this same period, remaining below 50 percent between 1980 and 2021.

Insights & Analyses: Santa Barbara County

• About 35 percent of Black households and 40 percent of Latinx households in Santa Barbara County owned their home in 2021, rates lower than average (52 percent).
• Homeownership rates for Black households in Santa Barbara County were lower than all other racial groups in 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2021. In 2010, about 40 percent of Black households owned their own homes while 39 percent of Latinx households owned their own homes.
• Homeownership rates among Latinx residents in Santa Barbara County between 1980 and 2021 have remained lower than average, hovering around 40 percent.
• White homeownership in Santa Barbara remained higher than all other groups between 1980 and 2021, ranging between 56 and 63 percent.

Insights & Analyses: Ventura County

• Overall rates of homeownership are higher in Ventura County compared to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
• The average rate of homeownership in Ventura County has remained above 60 percent between 1980 and 2021, with the highest rates of ownership among white and Asian American households.
• In Ventura County, rates of homeownership are lowest among Black and Latinx households, with 47 and 48 percent of households owning a home in 2021. Between 1980 to 2021, Black and Latinx households have had the lowest rate of home ownership among all racial groups.