Santa Barbara County is located on the Pacific coast of the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, just west of Ventura County. The population of Santa Barbara County as of 2006 is 421,625. The county seat is Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara County was formed in 1850 and derives its name from the Mission Santa Barbara that was founded on December 4, 1786, in what is now Santa Barbara. The county has a total area of 3,789 mi², 72% of it is land and 28% of it is water. Santa Barbara County grew by only 0.2% from 2000-2005, while California on the whole grew over 7%.