San Luis Obispo County, CA
Migration of people and income, 2022–2023 filing years
At a glance (2023)
Cost of living is the metro-area price level for San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA.
The cost of living runs about 11% above the national average. The median home is valued at $777,200 (nominal). Home prices have risen about 45% over the five years to 2023. Median rent is about $1,899 a month. Unemployment averaged 3.6% in 2023 (national 3.6%). Median household income is $93,398. These figures describe all residents, not just tax filers, come from separate sources than the migration data on this page, and do not indicate why anyone moved.
Between the 2022 and 2023 filing years, San Luis Obispo County, CA saw a net loss of 127 tax-filing households and a net gain of 147 individuals. Against a population of about 281,639, that is a net inflow of about 0.5 per 1,000 residents. On net, the area gained $161.3M in associated adjusted gross income (AGI, nominal dollars). The largest inflow, about 840 households, came from Santa Barbara County; the largest outflow, about 722 households, went to Santa Barbara County. In the prior (2022) filing year, the area saw a net loss of 433 individuals. These figures cover federal income tax filers only and do not indicate why people moved.
+0.5 net people per 1,000 residents (population 281,639)
Income (AGI) in and out
San Luis Obispo County within California
San Luis Obispo County is outlined, with arrows tracing its largest moves to and from other California counties. Hover any county for its figures; click to open it.
Where movers came from
- 1Santa Barbara County, CA840$76.7M
- 2Los Angeles County, CA627$85.1M
- 3Kern County, CA267$25.6M
- 4Santa Clara County, CA266$50.9M
- 5San Diego County, CA256$22.2M
- 6Fresno County, CA251$26.5M
- 7Orange County, CA241$24.9M
- 8Ventura County, CA173$18.6M
- 9Monterey County, CA166$13.2M
- 10Tulare County, CA142$13.9M
Where movers went
- 1Santa Barbara County, CA722$52.1M
- 2Los Angeles County, CA399$28.9M
- 3San Diego County, CA348$22.7M
- 4Orange County, CA227$14M
- 5Fresno County, CA187$16M
- 6Kern County, CA169$10.6M
- 7Santa Clara County, CA162$13.2M
- 8Ventura County, CA128$9.7M
- 9Monterey County, CA126$8.4M
- 10San Francisco County, CA120$8M
Churn by county · both directions at once
The biggest two-way exchanges of filing households, 2022–2023. Moved in and moved out are gross one-way counts; net is the difference. Click a column to sort.
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 840 | 722 | +118 | +$24.6M |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 627 | 399 | +228 | +$56.2M |
| San Diego County, CA | 256 | 348 | -92 | -$503K |
| Orange County, CA | 241 | 227 | +14 | +$10.9M |
| Fresno County, CA | 251 | 187 | +64 | +$10.6M |
| Kern County, CA | 267 | 169 | +98 | +$15M |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 266 | 162 | +104 | +$37.8M |
| Ventura County, CA | 173 | 128 | +45 | +$9M |
| Monterey County, CA | 166 | 126 | +40 | +$4.8M |
| Tulare County, CA | 142 | 96 | +46 | +$6.2M |
| Sacramento County, CA | 133 | 100 | +33 | +$3.2M |
| Riverside County, CA | 117 | 114 | +3 | +$2.1M |
Counts are filing households (IRS returns), matching the lists above; income is nominal AGI. A dash means the IRS published only one direction of that exchange (small flows are suppressed), so no net is computed.
Net migration by year
| Year | Net AGI | Net people |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | +$124.5M | +1,694 |
| 2013 | +$142.5M | +1,569 |
| 2014 | +$107M | +1,162 |
| 2015 | +$160.5M | +961 |
| 2016 | +$126.5M | +731 |
| 2017 | +$194.1M | +924 |
| 2018 | +$80.2M | +327 |
| 2019 | +$238.4M | -164 |
| 2020 | +$203M | +655 |
| 2021 | +$248.3M | +750 |
| 2022 | +$100.1M | -433 |
| 2023 | +$161.3M | +147 |
How big is this move, relative to the county?
In the 2022–2023 filing year, about 147 more people moved into San Luis Obispo County, CA than left (counting tax filers and their dependents) — a net gain of about $161.3M in income (nominal) — in a county of 282,225 people.
The rate lets you compare San Luis Obispo County, CA with a countyof any size: it’s the net flow divided by population. The IRS counts tax filers; population counts all residents, so read the rate as a scale indicator, not a literal share of people.
Components of population change · 2023 (Census)
Where the county’s overall change came from. Census counts all residents; the IRS migration above is one slice of the domestic-migration component.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program. Figures are people, not tax filers.
What a dollar is worth here
Prices around San Luis Obispo County, CA run about 11% above the national average. In plain terms: $100 spent here buys about what $90 buys in the average American community. The figures below apply that to income, each compared to the U.S. average of $70,002 per person.
Cost of living shown for the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA metro area (BEA publishes price parities by metro, not by county).
Where the cost comes from · price parity by category
Index where 100 = U.S. average for that category. Housing is usually what separates one place from another.
Housing is measured from rents (including an estimated rental value for owner-occupied homes), so a run-up in purchase prices shows here only as it reaches rents. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Covers all residents, a separate universe from the IRS filer income above. How the data works.
The people of San Luis Obispo County, CA
American Community Survey, 2019–2023 (a 5-year average of all residents, not just tax filers).
White, Black, and Asian counts are people who are not Hispanic or Latino; Hispanic or Latino can be of any race. Shares are rounded and may not total 100.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Covers all residents, a separate universe from the IRS filer data. A 5-year estimate is an average over 2019–2023; compare years at least five apart, since consecutive windows overlap. How the data works.
Housing · what it costs to live here (ACS 2019–2023)
A repeat-sales index (how much the same homes changed in price), so it tracks the market over time rather than the current level. Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency, annual all-transactions HPI; the county series is FHFA’s developmental index.
Units authorized by residential building permits (new supply), summed from counties for the state and U.S. Permits are authorizations, not completions. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Home value is what owners estimate their homes are worth, not recent sale prices. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2019–2023), nominal dollars. How the data works.
Jobs and natural hazards
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS) and FEMA. A disaster declaration marks federal assistance eligibility, not damage severity, and says nothing about why anyone moved. How the data works.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS). Monthly unemployment for this county, not seasonally adjusted. Updated every month, so it moves faster than the annual average above. How the data works.
Elections
National maps →How San Luis Obispo County, CA has voted. Certified returns, popular vote only. This is a separate dataset from the migration figures on this page.
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Other | Margin | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 81,314 | 64,932 | 4,520 | D +10.9 | 150,766 |
| 2020 | 88,310 | 67,436 | 3,968 | D +13.1 | 159,714 |
| 2016 | 67,107 | 56,164 | 11,738 | D +8.1 | 135,009 |
| 2012 | 61,258 | 59,967 | 4,413 | D +1.0 | 125,638 |
| 2008 | 68,176 | 61,055 | 3,422 | D +5.4 | 132,653 |
| 2004 | 58,742 | 67,995 | 1,910 | R +7.2 | 128,647 |
| 2000 | 44,526 | 56,859 | 7,501 | R +11.3 | 108,886 |
Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab county returns (CC0). Margins are the popular-vote gap as a share of all votes cast.
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