Community Data — City of La Purísima

✦ La Purísima by the Numbers ✦

10,635

Residents North of the River

Growing while the region stagnates

$111k

Median Household Income

13% above Santa Barbara County

~4%

Poverty Rate

One-quarter of the county rate

1,096

Veterans

More than double the county rate

~4%

Moved Last Year

One of the most stable communities in the county

Median Age

Experienced, settled, engaged

Benchmarks

How We Compare

Against every meaningful measure, this community outperforms the county, the state, and the national average.

Metric	La Purísima Region	Santa Barbara County	California	United States
Median Household Income	~$111,000 ↑	$98,161	$99,122	$80,734
Poverty Rate	~4% ↓	14.7%	12.0%	12.5%
Median Home Value	$493k – $637k	$790,700	$734,700	$332,700
Median Age	~42 years	34.6	37.9	38.9
Veterans (% of population)	~13% ↑	4.6%	4.3%	6.2%
High School Grad or Higher	~92% ↑	81.9%	84.7%	89.6%
Residents Who Moved Last Year	~4–9% ↓	15.2%	10.8%	12.3%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-Year Estimates · Census Reporter · Vandenberg Village CDP & Mission Hills CDP, Santa Barbara County ↑ above average (favorable) · ↓ below average (favorable)

What the Data Means

Numbers Into Plain Language

🏡

Your Property Value Has Room to Grow

Incorporation puts land-use decisions in local hands. Communities that govern their own growth protect property values better than those that don't — the research is consistent. A city council answerable only to La Purísima residents will zone for the community's benefit, not a county-wide planning queue. Our above-average income and below-average poverty rate are the foundation. Incorporation is the roof.

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The Workforce Next Door Is Getting More Valuable

Vandenberg Space Force Base is the nation's primary site for military space launches at the exact moment the space economy is accelerating. The engineers, operators, and families who live here because of VSFB are among the most credentialed, highest-earning residents on the Central Coast. That demographic is not leaving. It is growing. Our school enrollment data confirms what the workforce projections predict.

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A Seat at the Table — Your Own Table

Every major planning decision about our land, roads, and services is currently made by officials whose districts and incentives do not center here. Incorporation changes that permanently. A city council for La Purísima answers exclusively to La Purísima residents. When something goes wrong, the responsible party is someone you can reach — because they live on your street.

Governance Philosophy

Jurisdictions that centralized everything are now paying the price — in higher taxes, persistent debt, and services that can't be trimmed because they were never designed to be lean. We intend to govern differently.

Distributed, Not Centralized

Two independent CSDs already serve this territory efficiently and solvently. That structure is a feature, not a problem to consolidate away. The path to incorporation preserves what works.

Live Within Revenue

Both special districts have operated in the black. That culture of fiscal accountability is the governing norm we bring into incorporation, not something to learn on the job.

Resist the Amenity Spiral

Jurisdictions that overpromise services accumulate structural deficits that outlast every administration that created them. La Purísima will offer excellent services — and only the ones the community actually funds.

Property Tax Dollars, Spent Here

Today our property tax revenue is pooled county-wide. An incorporated city captures a direct share. Our above-average property values mean incorporation is fiscally advantageous from day one.

Accountability That Is Local

When something goes wrong, that conversation should happen with an official whose job depends on your satisfaction — not one managing 440,000 county residents.

Grow Deliberately, Not Reactively

Land-use decisions made by elected officials who live among the consequences. The oldest and most reliable check on bad planning. We will not inherit someone else's growth targets.

The People Behind These Numbers

Built by People Who Show Up

The strength of this community has always rested on those who did the quiet, unglamorous work of governance — and did it right.

💧 Vandenberg Village CSD Solvent district, modern capital facility, financial reserves intact — the likely foundation of a future city hall

🏛️ Mission Hills CSD Stable district serving Mission Hills and Mesa Oaks; the board members who kept it in the black are this community's civic backbone

🚀 Vandenberg Space Force Base Workforce Engineers, technicians, and families who power the nation's premier space launch facility and choose to live here

🏥 Medical and Technical Professionals Physicians, nurses, and specialists whose presence raises the civic and economic floor of the entire corridor

🎓 Growing Schools, Growing Families Cabrillo High, Crestview, and Vandenberg Middle are growing while the broader district declines — young families are choosing this community with intention