They remember your filters, help us fix what's broken, and help us get you to the right place faster. Some also help us reach you on other sites. You choose what we use. Cookie Policy
University of California, Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CAUpdated Monthly
By the FMP Data Team · Reviewed October 1, 2026
Willow Springs leads our October 2026 ranking of the 8 Best Overall student apartments near UCSB with a 5.0/5 FMP Score, followed by Encina Meadows and Arrive Los Carneros II. Across the 8 properties reviewed, students keep coming back to amenities & shared spaces and management & maintenance: the overall signals that move a property up this ranking. Browse all off-campus housing near University of California, Santa Barbara for every option.
Sorted by FMP Score from verified UCSB reviews, high to low. Scores reflect current UCSB reviews only.
why it ranked: The top overall pick near UCSB, at 5.0/5 from verified reviews. Alex and the rest of themaintenance crew and the office staff are awesome. They take pride in their job and provide the best service I have ever experienced over 20 tears in California.
why it ranked: A podium finish for overall near UCSB, 4.2/5 from verified reviews. The Valentine’s Day treats were wonderful and the bag is beautiful. Everything’s wrapped lovely truly very thoughtful. Thank you so much, we feel the love!!
why it ranked: A podium finish for overall near UCSB, 4.2/5 from verified reviews. Surprising and impressive thought to detail was apparent when we toured the property. Even my little dog could imagine living there. As our needs become more apparent we will be in touch…
why it ranked: Holds a 4.2/5 overall score from verified UCSB reviews. We love Sumida Gardens! It’s a great place to live. The community is outstanding. It’s a family friendly environment and…
why it ranked: Holds a 3.6/5 overall score from verified UCSB reviews. ★★★★★ 5 Stars! I can’t say enough great things about my experience at Arrive Los Carneros Apartments! From the moment I moved in…
why it ranked: Holds a 2.4/5 overall score from verified UCSB reviews. It's always a pleasure working with this company. They repaired my circuit breaker that kept tripping with great skill and…
why it ranked: Holds a 1.8/5 overall score from verified UCSB reviews. Great location on El Colegio with close proximity to a bus stop. Our experience with the apartment was a good one. We had this…
why it ranked: Holds a 1.0/5 overall score from verified UCSB reviews. Hello Pacific Oaks team, any plans of returning my security deposit? I have sent many email reminders but never got a response…
| 1 | Willow Springs | 5.0/5 | 5 | – | $3474/mo |
| 2 | Encina Meadows | 4.2/5 | 5 | – | $3116/mo |
| 3 | Arrive Los Carneros II | 4.2/5 | 5 | – | $4390/mo |
| 4 | Sumida Gardens Apartments | 4.2/5 | 5 | – | $4340/mo |
| 5 | Arrive Los Carneros | 3.6/5 | 5 | – | – |
| 6 | Tropicana gardens | 2.4/5 | 5 | – | – |
| 7 | Tahitian Apartments | 1.8/5 | 5 | – | $2750/mo |
| 8 | Pacific Oaks | 1.0/5 | 5 | – | $2910/mo |
Walk times are door-to-door to UCSB campus. Rent is per person, per month.
FMP Score, high to low. That’s the whole ranking. It’s our overall measure of a property, combining verified review scores with signals reviews miss, like how current the listing is kept and how responsive management is. Ties go to the property with more verified reviews.
Every property near UCSB can appear, but it takes a minimum number of verified reviews before we score and rank it. Properties under that bar sit below every ranked property and move up automatically as reviews come in.
The FMP Score blends the social, management, and quality scores from verified reviews with signals that a place is actively and well run, like how up to date its listing is kept and how consistently management responds to residents. It’s built to surface genuinely well-run properties, not just the highest raw review average.
We ran every verified overall review for UCSB-area apartments through theme analysis. These are the themes students bring up most when a place feels well-rounded, by share of the reviews that mention them.
Based on AI analysis of verified UCSB overall reviews, refreshed monthly. Percentages show the share of reviews that mention each theme; most reviews mention more than one. See our complete UCSB review data →
each fmp ranking re-ranks the same properties by a different lens (management and quality among them) and keeps its own list, refreshed monthly.
The most active social scenes: shared spaces, resident events, and roommate matching, scored from verified reviews.
see the ranking →The most responsive, reliable landlords: maintenance turnaround, lease transparency, and deposit fairness.
see the ranking →The best unit and building quality: condition, upkeep, and amenities, scored from verified reviews.
see the ranking →Willow Springs leads our October 2026 ranking of the 8 Best Overall student apartments near UCSB with a 5.0/5 FMP Score, followed by Encina Meadows and Arrive Los Carneros II.
This list is ranked by one number: each property's overall score from verified reviews. Students rate a property's overall 1 to 5, and we average those scores, counting recent reviews more heavily than older ones. No self-reported data from landlords.
The best overall apartments score highly across everything students rate (social scene, management, and unit quality), not just one. This ranking uses each property's overall rating from verified reviews.
Monthly. We re-pull verified reviews and re-score every property at the start of each month, so the order reflects the most recent 24 months of student feedback. The “updated” date at the top of the page shows the latest refresh.
There's a minimum number of verified reviews to rank by score, and we don't publish the exact bar so it can't be gamed. Properties under it still appear, below every qualified property and ordered by review count, so a 5.0 from one review never outranks a 4.5 from thirty. Once a property collects enough reviews, it moves into the scored ranking automatically.
It's fully independent. There's no pay-to-rank. Position is set by verified reviews alone. Property managers can't buy placement, remove reviews, or influence the score.
If your property is on this ranking, you've earned an FMP Award. Reach out and we'll set you up with the official badge for your website, social, and print, free. It's how renters know your ranking is real.
student apartments near UCSB