Goleta, California
The Chumash people inhabited the Goleta region for thousands of years before any European arrived. Locally, Spanish explorers called them Canaliños because they lived along the coast near the Channel Islands. One of their largest villages, S'axpilil, stood north of the Goleta Slough close to what is now the Santa Barbara Airport. The first known European visitor was Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542. He spent time around the Channel Islands and died there the following year. During the 1980s, a 16th-century cannon found on the beach led to theories that Sir Francis Drake sailed into the Goleta Slough in 1579. This location remains one of many proposed sites for his New Albion landing. In 1602, Sebastian Vizcaino visited the California Coast and named the channel Santa Barbara. No permanent settlements were established during the next 167 years despite intermittent stops by Manila galleon ships. Gaspar de Portolà's expedition spent several days in the area in 1769 while traveling toward Monterey Bay. They spent the night of August 20 near a creek possibly named San Pedro Creek north of the Goleta estuary. At that time, the estuary was a vast open-water lagoon covering most of present-day Goleta. It stretched as far north as Lake Los Carneros adjacent to Stow House. There were at least five native towns in the area with the largest situated on an island within the middle of the lagoon. Expedition engineer Miguel Costanso called this group of towns Pueblos de la Isla or towns of the island. Some soldiers referred to the island town Mescaltitlan after a similarly insular Aztec settlement in Nayarit Mexico. Franciscan missionary Juan Crespi gave the towns the name Santa Margarita de Cortona.
The Goleta Valley served as a prominent lemon-growing region throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The landscape remained largely agricultural until aviation pioneers began using portions of the silted-in Goleta Slough for takeoffs and landings during the 1920s. Former tidelands had unclear title which complicated development efforts. Starting in 1940 boosters from Santa Barbara lobbied hard to obtain federal funding and passed a bond measure to formally develop an airport on the Goleta Slough. A Japanese submarine shelled the Ellwood Oil Field in 1942 making the necessity for a military airfield immediately apparent. This attack represented one of the few direct-fire assaults on the U.S. continent during World War II. The Marine Corps completed construction of the airport and established Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara on the site now occupied by the current airport and University of California Santa Barbara campus. After the war residents supported building Lake Cachuma which provided water enabling a housing boom. Research and aerospace firms subsequently established themselves in the area. In 1954 the University of California Santa Barbara moved onto part of the former Marine base. The character of Goleta shifted dramatically from rural-agricultural to high-tech industrial. Goleta remains a center for high-tech firms today while also serving as a bedroom community for neighboring Santa Barbara.
Goleta was officially incorporated as a city in 2002 following several decades of unsuccessful attempts. A significant urbanized area remained unincorporated between Goleta and Santa Barbara largely consisting of territory that had voted against incorporation prior to the 2002 election. This excluded area was sometimes dubbed Noleta. Discussions arose about annexing this region by the city of Santa Barbara but it ultimately stayed separate. The student community of Isla Vista directly south was also excluded from the new city boundaries. Whether or not to include Isla Vista became a subject of intense debate during incorporation planning. Goleta residents expressed concern over impacts on tax revenue and the voting patterns of students. A Local Agency Formation Commission report supported excluding Isla Vista due to differences in community identity. However, the commission considered both including and excluding Isla Vista to be viable choices. Goleta's cityhood was established through Measure H-2001 in the November 2001 election. The first five members of the city council were elected at that time and officially began their terms on the 1st of February 2002. Margaret Connell received 3479 votes while Jack Hawxhurst received 3443 votes for their respective seats.
The Goleta Valley forms a coastal plain stretching across the space between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. It consists of Holocene and Pleistocene alluvium colluvium and estuarine deposits alongside marine terraces created during interglacial high-sea-level episodes. The area has experienced rapid geologic uplift evidenced by its coastal bluffs and narrow beaches. Between the flattest part of the valley and the ocean an area of uplift parallels the shore from west to east. This block includes Isla Vista Mescalitan Island More Mesa and the Hope Ranch Hills. The elevation of this land relative to Goleta Valley increases from 40 feet to 300 feet along this length. Motion along the More Ranch Fault caused the uplift and remains one of the most geologically active faults in the area. The fault roughly follows a line along El Colegio Road through the southern part of the airport along Atascadero Creek then continues east into Santa Barbara as the Mission Ridge Fault Zone. Soils in Goleta are mostly well-drained brown fine sandy loam of the Milpitas series. Underneath the alluvial units lie three prominent bedrock units: Monterey Formation Sisquoc Formation and Santa Barbara Formation. The last unit serves as the principal groundwater aquifer for the region. Freshwater wells are protected from seawater intrusion by the uplift along the More Ranch Fault which placed relatively impermeable rock units between the ocean and it. Bobcats can be seen in the area while coyotes sometimes prey on small domestic pets. Skunks often spray and fall prey to cars owls dogs and coyotes. Raccoons become neighborhood pests and opossums commonly inhabit neighborhoods. Monarch butterflies spend the winter in several eucalyptus groves on the Ellwood Mesa.
Goleta first appeared as a census designated place in the 2000 U.S. census before becoming a city in 2001. The 2020 United States census reported that Goleta had a population of 32690 with a density of approximately 4,500 people per square mile. The racial makeup included 52.0% White 1.6% African American 1.5% Native American 12.1% Asian 0.1% Pacific Islander 15.8% from other races and 17.0% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race comprised 35.3% of the total population. Of its 12029 households 30.7% had children under 18 living there. About 24.0% of households were one person and 10.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The median age was 38.2 years. For every 100 females there were 102.2 males. In 2023 the US Census Bureau estimated that 22.5% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older 65.1% spoke only English at home while 22.3% spoke Spanish. The median household income reached $118039 and the per capita income stood at $52610. About 5.4% of families and 10.6% of the population lived below the poverty line. At the 2010 census Goleta had a population of 29888 with 69.7% White residents.
The University of California Santa Barbara serves as the major center of economic activity in the area both directly and through numerous associated service industry activities for staff and students. Hispanic Business maintained its corporate headquarters in Goleta until relocating elsewhere. Deckers Outdoor Corporation is based in Goleta and operates parent companies including UGG Australia Teva Sanuk Ahnu and Hoka One One. Several technology sector businesses operate in the area due to proximity to the university including Raytheon Lockheed Martin Northrop Grumman AppFolio FLIR and InTouch. The Bacara Resort located at the western edge of the city employs many residents. Following statewide passage of Proposition 64 in 2016 the city began accepting retail applications on a first-come first-served basis in August 2018. The city limits the number of recreational retail cannabis businesses to six. In November 2018 voters passed Measure Z-2018 establishing a tax on cannabis business operations within the city. A medical marijuana dispensary received the first license for sales of recreational cannabis and began selling in January 2020. Companies must be licensed by the local agency and state to grow test or sell cannabis while the city may authorize none or only some of these activities. In 2017 the city established an ambitious goal of supplying 100% of municipal facilities and community-wide electricity supply with renewable power by 2030.
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Common questions
Who were the first people to inhabit Goleta, California?
The Chumash people inhabited the Goleta region for thousands of years before any European arrived. Locally, Spanish explorers called them Canaliños because they lived along the coast near the Channel Islands.
When did Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo visit Goleta, California?
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo was the first known European visitor in 1542. He spent time around the Channel Islands and died there the following year.
Why is the More Ranch Fault significant to Goleta, California geology?
Motion along the More Ranch Fault caused rapid geologic uplift evidenced by coastal bluffs and narrow beaches. This fault remains one of the most geologically active faults in the area and protects freshwater wells from seawater intrusion.
What happened during the Japanese shelling of Ellwood Oil Field in Goleta, California?
A Japanese submarine shelled the Ellwood Oil Field in 1942 making the necessity for a military airfield immediately apparent. This attack represented one of the few direct-fire assaults on the U.S. continent during World War II.
How many residents were counted in the 2020 United States census for Goleta, California?
The 2020 United States census reported that Goleta had a population of 32690 with a density of approximately 4,500 people per square mile. The median household income reached $118039 and the per capita income stood at $52610.