Goleta is a medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of California. With a population of 32,432 people and 13 associated neighborhoods, Goleta is the 240th largest community in California.

Goleta home prices are not only among the most expensive in California, but Goleta real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Also of interest is that Goleta has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 14.75% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Goleta is also a college town, where lots of students live while attending area colleges. Because of the high percentage of people living in Goleta enrolled in college, Goleta has a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared towards the needs and activities of students.

Goleta, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.

One of the nice things about Goleta is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.

Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 18.84 minutes getting to work every day.

Goleta is one of the most well-educated cities in the nation. 49.96% of adults in Goleta have at least a bachelor's degree. Compare that to the average community in America, which has just 21.84% with a bachelor's degree or higher.

The per capita income in Goleta in 2022 was $49,259, which is upper middle income relative to California, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $197,036 for a family of four. However, Goleta contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Goleta is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Goleta home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Goleta residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Goleta also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 36.38% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Goleta include English, German, Irish, Italian, and Scottish.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Goleta's cultural character, accounting for 23.35% of the city’s population.

The most common language spoken in Goleta is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.