High paying business and finance jobs in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA

Every business and finance occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA. Read the percentile range, not just the median: the gap between the 10th and 90th inside a single business and finance job is usually wider than the gap between two different ones, so where you land in a field matters more than which field you pick.

Cost of living: prices in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA run 8.8% above the national average (2024), so a Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA salary is worth about 0.92× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order.

Local wage estimates are suppressed more often than state ones — BLS withholds any figure too few local employers report — so an occupation missing here simply has no published local estimate.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find business jobs in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA

OccupationMedian, Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA · Employed

1Personal Financial Advisors$124,380
Bachelor's degree
$61,860 – $379,250210
2Budget Analysts$110,470
Bachelor's degree
$71,240 – $132,68080
3Project Management Specialists$106,250
Bachelor's degree
$58,970 – $169,2101,030
4Management Analysts$99,990
Bachelor's degree
$63,600 – $177,060710
5Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators$99,660
High school diploma or equivalent
$56,510 – $125,330100
6Financial and Investment Analysts$97,720
Bachelor's degree
$67,490 – $152,380390
7Logisticians$92,540
Bachelor's degree
$62,070 – $149,410220
8Accountants and Auditors$91,610
Bachelor's degree
$60,740 – $154,4701,510
9Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists$89,590
Bachelor's degree
$59,750 – $144,410100
10Business Operations Specialists, All Other$89,340
Bachelor's degree
$46,520 – $180,5401,530
11Loan Officers$86,200
Bachelor's degree
$44,440 – $186,220180
12Compliance Officers$85,780
Bachelor's degree
$60,500 – $143,810400
13Buyers and Purchasing Agents$82,040
Bachelor's degree
$53,290 – $128,070490
14Fundraisers$81,910
Bachelor's degree
$54,690 – $139,140200
15Human Resources Specialists$80,340
Bachelor's degree
$57,490 – $134,950870
16Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists$79,710
Bachelor's degree
$44,900 – $156,330960
17Financial Specialists, All Other$78,590
Bachelor's degree
$36,740 – $153,96090
18Cost Estimators$77,730
Bachelor's degree
$52,300 – $139,310240
19Training and Development Specialists$75,890
Bachelor's degree
$43,740 – $132,120450
20Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners$71,100
Bachelor's degree
$44,260 – $115,550330

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianSanta Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Personal Financial AdvisorsBachelor's degree	$124,380	$61,860 – $379,250	210
2	Budget AnalystsBachelor's degree	$110,470	$71,240 – $132,680	80
3	Project Management SpecialistsBachelor's degree	$106,250	$58,970 – $169,210	1,030
4	Management AnalystsBachelor's degree	$99,990	$63,600 – $177,060	710
5	Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and InvestigatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$99,660	$56,510 – $125,330	100
6	Financial and Investment AnalystsBachelor's degree	$97,720	$67,490 – $152,380	390
7	LogisticiansBachelor's degree	$92,540	$62,070 – $149,410	220
8	Accountants and AuditorsBachelor's degree	$91,610	$60,740 – $154,470	1,510
9	Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis SpecialistsBachelor's degree	$89,590	$59,750 – $144,410	100
10	Business Operations Specialists, All OtherBachelor's degree	$89,340	$46,520 – $180,540	1,530
11	Loan OfficersBachelor's degree	$86,200	$44,440 – $186,220	180
12	Compliance OfficersBachelor's degree	$85,780	$60,500 – $143,810	400
13	Buyers and Purchasing AgentsBachelor's degree	$82,040	$53,290 – $128,070	490
14	FundraisersBachelor's degree	$81,910	$54,690 – $139,140	200
15	Human Resources SpecialistsBachelor's degree	$80,340	$57,490 – $134,950	870
16	Market Research Analysts and Marketing SpecialistsBachelor's degree	$79,710	$44,900 – $156,330	960
17	Financial Specialists, All OtherBachelor's degree	$78,590	$36,740 – $153,960	90
18	Cost EstimatorsBachelor's degree	$77,730	$52,300 – $139,310	240
19	Training and Development SpecialistsBachelor's degree	$75,890	$43,740 – $132,120	450
20	Meeting, Convention, and Event PlannersBachelor's degree	$71,100	$44,260 – $115,550	330

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

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The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA to rank honestly.

High paying business and finance jobs in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA

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