Santa Monica California City Guide

Santa Monica’s population in 2010 was 88,700, and the population in 2018 was 92,078. It’s estimated the 10 year growth rate is 3.69%, and the annual growth rate of Santa Monica is 0.53%.

51% of the population is female, so 46,942 women live in Santa Monica. Meanwhile, 45,136 men live in the city, which equals 49% of the population.

Santa Monica’s median age is 40, which is 4 years over California’s average. 17% of the population is under 20, while 25% is between 20-34. Almost 30% of residents are 35-54 years old. 12% of the city’s residents are 55-64, and 15% are 65 and over.

Santa Monica’s population is 76% White. Almost 10% of the city’s population is Asian. 4.4% of residents are Black or African American. Meanwhile, an estimated 5.9% of residents are biracial or multiracial.

10.8% of Santa Monica residents are German, and about 10% of residents identify as Irish. Another 6% of residents have Russian roots. About 23% of residents were born in another country.

Seeing as 70.8% of residents speak English alone, few residents are multilingual. 11.5% of residents are fluent in Spanish. An additional 2.6% of residents speak Russian, Polish or another Slavic language. From there, 5% of the population speaks another Indo-European Language.

9 elementaries, 3 middle schools, and 2 high school campuses are in Santa Monica. The city’s high school dropout rate is around 5%, which falls under both national and statewide averages. 73% of students in the city go to public schools, and 28% go to private schools.

About 95% of Santa Monica residents have a high school education, while almost 14% of adult residents have attended some college classes. 5% of the population holds an associate’s degree, while 67% have earned a bachelor’s degree. From there, almost 30% of adult residents have a graduate degree or a professional degree, and 5% have a doctorate degree.

Real estate prices in Santa Monica are among the highest in California and in all of the U.S.

In 2019, the median property value in the city was $1,530,245. This represented a 31% increase from the median property value of $1,170,000 recorded in 2017. Between 2016 and 2017, the median property value grew by 7.34%, from $1.09M to $1.17M. The median property value in the city is expected to rise by 5.4% within 2020.

Real estate prices in Santa Monica have appreciated 87.73% since 2000. This is an average annual home appreciation rate of 6.50%.

In 2017, the median household income in the city was $86,084. This was a 4.82% increase from the median household income of $82,123 recorded in 2016.

Currently, housing units in Santa Monica have a median listing price of $1,849,000 and the median list price per square foot is $1,127.

There are over 46,300 homes and apartments in Santa Monica. Nearly 73% of the city’s housing units are renter-occupied with one, two, or no bedroom apartments.

The most common properties in the city are large apartment complexes or high rise apartments which account for nearly 65%. 18.1% of housing units are single-family detached homes, followed by homes converted to apartments or small apartment buildings which account for 12.5%. 38% of homes have two bedrooms, followed by 1-bedroom homes which account for 33.1%.

Most single-family homes in Santa Monica were built from 1940 – 1969. The 1950s saw the rise of the dingbat – economically designed two- or three-story apartment houses – to answer the affordable housing needs of a growing post-war population.

Nearly 17,000 midsize to large apartment condo buildings were built in the area in the 1960s and 1970s. New unit constructions in the area have been limited since the 1980s because of zoning restrictions.

$94K is roughly the median household income in Santa Monica, and the average salary is just under $124K. The per capita income of Santa Monica tracks around $72K.

This city’s unemployment rate is 6.7%, and 10.4% of residents live below the poverty line. For context, 2.7% of the population earns less than $15K per year, and about 10% of the city’s residents earn between $15K-$35K annually.

Another 10% of the population makes between $35K-$50K, while another 13.6% of the population earns between $50K-$65K. Almost 7% of residents make $65K-$75K. Meanwhile, over 15% of residents earn $75K-$100K, and 41% make over $100K.