Traditionally, Isla Vista is the area boxed in by El Colegio Road to the north, Ocean Road to the east, the beach to the south, and Camino Majorca to the west.
The 2000 census showed 13,465 residents in this area of about 0.55 square miles (1.4 km²).
 The 2010 census showed population growth in this area of 10.2%,
to 14,843.
 The densest (by population per land area) of the three subdivisions in the box, also called Isla Vista, was in 2010 the 87th densest census tract in California.

The Isla Vista census-designated place defined in 2000 adds considerable land "outside the box", including the UCSB campus, Storke Ranch, and the area between Los Carneros and Storke Road north to Hollister Avenue, and contained a population of 18,344 and a land area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²).
In the 2000 census, a mistake was made, and about 2,000 UCSB dormitory residents were listed as residing at the Santa Barbara Airport, and thus were outside the CDP.
 Starting in 2010, the Isla Vista CDP boundaries were revised to exclude various areas, including Storke Ranch and the Storke Plaza shopping center, which are now in the City of Goleta, reducing the CDP land area to  1.9 square miles (4.9 km²).

"Isla Vista" is actually the name of the first subdivision built in the center of the community which eponymously gave it its name.
The Isla Vista subdivision proper is between Camino Pescadero on the east and Camino Corto on the west.
The Isla Vista subdivision was established in 1925, the Ocean Terrace subdivision between University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and Camino Pescadero, and the Orilla del Mar subdivision between Camino Corto and the UCSB West Campus, both built in 1926.
A number of east-west streets undergo "jogs" at the boundaries of the three subdivisions, because Santa Barbara County never required the three subdivisions to use a common street layout.
The three subdivisions now are collectively called Isla Vista, and their total extent occupies land inherited by Alfonso Den, son of Nicolas A. Den, grantee of the Mexican land grant Rancho Dos Pueblos.

In the 2001 incorporation of Goleta, inland to the north and up the coast to the west, Isla Vista was excluded.
Whether or not to include Isla Vista was a subject of debate during incorporation planning, where a Goleta resident expressed concern about polls that indicated opposition to Isla Vista by all Goletans.
Eventually the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) recommended the exclusion of Isla Vista from the City of Goleta, although LAFCO projections indicated that the City of Goleta gave up $33 million in revenue over 10 years by excluding Isla Vista.
 The reason that LAFCO cited for recommending the exclusion of Isla Vista was `community identity'.

Isla Vista is located at 34°24'53" North, 119°51'38" West (34.414595, -119.860418).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²), of which 99.07% of it is land and 0.93% of it is water.
Traditionally, Isla Vista is the area boxed in by El Colegio Road to the north, Ocean Road to the east, the beach to the south, and Camino Majorca to the west. The 2000 census showed 13,465 residents in this area of about 0.55 square miles (1.4 km²).  The 2010 census showed population growth in this area of 10.2%,
to 14,843.  The densest (by population per land area) of the three subdivisions in the box, also called Isla Vista, was in 2010 the 87th densest census tract in California.
The Isla Vista census-designated place defined in 2000 adds considerable land "outside the box", including the UCSB campus, Storke Ranch, and the area between Los Carneros and Storke Road north to Hollister Avenue, and contained a population of 18,344 and a land area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²). In the 2000 census, a mistake was made, and about 2,000 UCSB dormitory residents were listed as residing at the Santa Barbara Airport, and thus were outside the CDP.  Starting in 2010, the Isla Vista CDP boundaries were revised to exclude various areas, including Storke Ranch and the Storke Plaza shopping center, which are now in the City of Goleta, reducing the CDP land area to  1.9 square miles (4.9 km²).
"Isla Vista" is actually the name of the first subdivision built in the center of the community which eponymously gave it its name. The Isla Vista subdivision proper is between Camino Pescadero on the east and Camino Corto on the west. The Isla Vista subdivision was established in 1925, the Ocean Terrace subdivision between University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and Camino Pescadero, and the Orilla del Mar subdivision between Camino Corto and the UCSB West Campus, both built in 1926. A number of east-west streets undergo "jogs" at the boundaries of the three subdivisions, because Santa Barbara County never required the three subdivisions to use a common street layout. The three subdivisions now are collectively called Isla Vista, and their total extent occupies land inherited by Alfonso Den, son of Nicolas A. Den, grantee of the Mexican land grant Rancho Dos Pueblos.
In the 2001 incorporation of Goleta, inland to the north and up the coast to the west, Isla Vista was excluded. Whether or not to include Isla Vista was a subject of debate during incorporation planning, where a Goleta resident expressed concern about polls that indicated opposition to Isla Vista by all Goletans. Eventually the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) recommended the exclusion of Isla Vista from the City of Goleta, although LAFCO projections indicated that the City of Goleta gave up $33 million in revenue over 10 years by excluding Isla Vista.  The reason that LAFCO cited for recommending the exclusion of Isla Vista was `community identity'.
Isla Vista is located at 34°24'53" North, 119°51'38" West (34.414595, -119.860418).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²), of which 99.07% of it is land and 0.93% of it is water.
Isla Vista, California