Santa Barbara County was California’s top cannabis producer in 2025.
Growers produced an estimated 14.32 million pounds of cannabis, accounting for nearly one-third of the state’s reported harvest and generating more than $400 million in production value.
The county’s annual crop report shows an increase in production from 10.3 million pounds in 2024 to 14.32 million pounds in 2025, while estimated production value rose 27.8%, from $313.5 million to $400.8 million.
Despite its size, the industry’s value is not included in the county’s official $2.2 billion agricultural production total.
If cannabis were included alongside the county’s traditional agricultural commodities, its estimated $400.8 million production value would rank as Santa Barbara County’s second most valuable agricultural product, behind only strawberries at $942 million, according to the county’s annual crop report.
The exclusion prompted questions during a June 23 presentation of the county’s annual Agricultural Crop Report, when Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino asked Agricultural Commissioner Jose Chang when cannabis could begin counting toward the county’s agricultural total.
“Ultimately, it has to become an agricultural commodity,” Chang said. “At this point, this is still not an agricultural commodity at the federal level, and as such, it’s still an illicit commodity.”
County officials said cannabis is reported separately from traditional agricultural commodities under current state and federal law, although counties may choose to publish cannabis production data in a supplemental report.
When cannabis is considered alongside the county’s official agricultural production value, the combined total exceeds $2.6 billion, according to the County Executive Office.
The county’s cannabis industry has also grown beyond its local significance.
The California Department of Cannabis Control also ranks Santa Barbara among California’s dominant cannabis producing regions. The county contains 20.6% of the state’s cultivation acreage, the largest production acreage of any county and the state’s second highest number of cultivation licenses, according to Jordan Traverso, deputy director of public affairs.
“We have been seeing significant increases in cultivation acreage throughout the state,” Traverso said in an email.
Traverso said the department could not identify what specifically is driving Santa Barbara County’s recent increase.
County officials attributed the county’s growth to new licensed cultivation operations and increased planting density.
Officials cautioned, however, that those production figures are not directly comparable because the county changed its data source between reports. Likewise, the reported increase from 481.7 to 806 permitted cultivation acres reflects a change in methodology rather than a measured increase in planted acreage.
According to county officials, they do not track how many acres are actively planted with cannabis.
They also attributed the decline in the number of active cultivation licenses–from 803 in 2024 to 363 in 2025– to growers consolidating multiple small licenses into fewer medium or large licenses
For now, cannabis remains separately reported from the crops and livestock included in Santa Barbara County’s official agricultural production value.
