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Santa Maria is the largest city in Santa Barbara County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 77,423. The 2005 census estimates listed Santa Maria's population at 90,124. Due to its immense growth in the past few years, the population has surpassed the county seat, Santa Barbara as of January 2006. According to the California State Department of Finance, Santa Maria has an estimated population of 90,204. Santa Barbara's population is 89,548 according to the same agency.
Geography
Santa Maria is located at (34.951377, -120.433373).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 51.2 km² (19.8 mi²). 50.1 km² (19.3 mi²) of it is land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (2.23%) is water.
Santa Maria is generally situated north of the unincorporated community of Orcutt, south of the Santa Maria River (which serves as the line between Santa Barbara County and San Luis Obispo County) and surrounded on the west and east by agricultural fields. The city of Guadalupe is approximately 9 miles to the west of Santa Maria.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 77,423 people, 22,146 households, and 16,653 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,546.5/km² (4,005.8/mi²). There were 22,847 housing units at an average density of 456.4/km² (1,182.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 58.07% White, 1.87% African American, 1.76% Native American, 4.74% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 28.02% from other races, and 5.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 59.67% of the population.
There were 22,146 households out of which 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 20.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.40 and the average family size was 3.85.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.6% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,541, and the median income for a family was $39,277. Males had a median income of $28,700 versus $22,364 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,780. About 15.5% of families and 19.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.5% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.
Law and government
Courts
Santa Maria is home to one of the main two court locations of the Santa Barbara County Superior Court; the other is at Santa Barbara. Since 2003 the court in Santa Maria has been handling a felony complaint against Michael Jackson (see 2005 trial). Santa Maria was selected because the location of the alleged crimes was the Neverland Ranch in the northern half of the county.Police Department
As the primary law enforcement agency for the City of Santa Maria, the department operates on a 24-hour basis and handles approximately 75,700 calls for service each year. The Department has 106 sworn officers and 38 full-time support personnel. In order to provide the community with the highest level of service available, the Police Department is administratively divided into the three divisions, Administration, Operations, and Support. *Transportation
Road
U.S. Route 101 runs through the middle of Santa Maria and is the main expressway connecting all Central Coast cities. It has been improved to freeway status (meaning all at-grade intersections have been eliminated) within the town of Santa Maria itself.California State Highway 1 runs around the western edge of the town and connects it to nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base. Oddly, though the section of 101 in the town is a freeway, and the nearby section of Highway 1 that runs between the town and the base is also a freeway, the two freeway segments do not directly connect to each other.
Air
Santa Maria Public Airport offers regular commercial flights to Los Angeles and Las Vegas, an airport hotel, and some rental car facilities.Rail
The Santa Maria Valley Railroad (SMVRR) is a shortline freight railroad to Guadalupe.The nearest train station with long-distance Amtrak service is in Guadalupe, to which Amtrak provides bus service from Santa Maria. Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner provides twice daily service in each direction, running to Paso Robles to the north and to San Diego via Los Angeles to the south.
Bus
SMAT is a local bus service provided by both city and county-run lines, but not in the evening.Long-distance intercity bus service is provided by Greyhound Lines.
San Luis Obispo RTA also runs the line 10 that travels between Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo primarily on weekdays, with three trips in each direction on Saturdays.
The Breeze Bus provides service to Lompoc, Vandenberg Air Force Base, and Santa Maria.
External links
- City web site, also linking to Santa Maria Area Transit (SMAT)
- Central Coast Area Transit (CCAT)
- Pacific Surfliner schedules: bus serving Santa Maria and train serving Guadelupe
- SMVRR map
- Santa Maria Style Barbecue
- Community College with excellent computer classes for seniors
- Santa Maria Times Newspaper
"Santa Maria, California"