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California Regional Multiple Listing Service

The multiple listing data appearing on this website, or contained in reports produced therefrom, is owned and copyrighted by California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. ("CRMLS") and is protected by all applicable copyright laws. Information provided is for viewer's personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties the viewer may be interested in purchasing. All listing data, including but not limited to square footage and lot size is believed to be accurate, but the listing Agent, listing Broker and CRMLS and its affiliates do not warrant or guarantee such accuracy. The viewer should independently verify the listed data prior to making any decisions based on such information by personal inspection and/or contacting a real estate professional.

Based on information from California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. as of the most recent time synced and /or other sources. All data, including all measurements and calculations of area, is obtained from various sources and has not been, and will not be, verified by broker or MLS. All information should be independently reviewed and verified for accuracy. Properties may or may not be listed by the office/agent presenting the information

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San Luis Obispo County Ranch Town

About Santa Margarita, CA

Welcome to Santa Margarita, a small San Luis Obispo County community on the historic Santa Margarita Ranch, set along State Route 58 near Santa Margarita Lake.

Santa Margarita is a small, unincorporated community and census-designated place in San Luis Obispo County, on California's Central Coast. It sits in the inland foothills northeast of the city of San Luis Obispo, near Cuesta Peak and along State Route 58, in a landscape of oak woodlands, rolling pastures, and the headwaters of the Salinas River drainage. The community was founded in 1889, but its roots run much deeper, tied to the Spanish and Mexican eras of California history. The town takes its name from the Mexican-era Rancho Santa Margarita, one of the great land grants of Alta California, and it is home to the Santa Margarita de Cortona Asistencia, a former outpost associated with Mission San Luis Obispo. The ranch tradition continued through the American period, when the Murphy family held the land, ran large cattle herds, and helped bring the Southern Pacific Railroad through the area, securing Santa Margarita's place on the region's map. Today Santa Margarita remains a small community of roughly 1,300 residents. It is served by the Atascadero Unified School District, with Santa Margarita Elementary School located in town and secondary students attending schools in Atascadero. The surrounding Santa Margarita Ranch continues to operate as a working ranch and event venue, keeping the area's agricultural identity alive. The community's chief natural amenity is Santa Margarita Lake, a county-managed recreation area with a reservoir for boating and fishing, developed camping, and miles of trails. For residents, Santa Margarita offers country living with genuine historical depth, positioned conveniently between Atascadero, San Luis Obispo, and the Paso Robles wine region to the north.

Population 1,291
County San Luis Obispo County
Active Listings 68
Browse by Listing Type
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homeHouses apartmentCondos & Apartments holiday_villageTownhouses & Duplexes crop_landscapeLots & Land parkFarms & Ranches

Frequently Asked Questions

What county is Santa Margarita, CA in?

Santa Margarita is located in San Luis Obispo County, on California's Central Coast. It lies northeast of the city of San Luis Obispo along State Route 58, near the county's inland foothills and Cuesta Peak.

What school district serves Santa Margarita, CA?

Santa Margarita is served by the Atascadero Unified School District. Santa Margarita Elementary School operates within the community, and secondary students attend schools in the Atascadero district to the north.

What is Santa Margarita Lake?

Santa Margarita Lake is a San Luis Obispo County Parks recreation area with a reservoir offering boating and fishing, developed campgrounds, and roughly 25 miles of hiking trails. The adjoining Santa Margarita Lake Natural Area adds thousands of acres of open space for hiking, biking, and horseback riding.

What is the history of Santa Margarita, CA?

Santa Margarita was founded in 1889 near Cuesta Peak. It takes its name from the Mexican-era Rancho Santa Margarita land grant and is home to the Santa Margarita de Cortona Asistencia site, a former outpost of Mission San Luis Obispo, reflecting the area's Spanish and Mexican ranching heritage.

Is Santa Margarita the same as Rancho Santa Margarita?

No. Santa Margarita is a small rural community in San Luis Obispo County. Rancho Santa Margarita is a much larger, separate master-planned city in Orange County, more than 200 miles to the southeast. The two share a name but are entirely different places.

City Guide

About Santa Margarita

Real Estate & Housing

Santa Margarita's housing reflects its rural setting. The community is small and unincorporated, with a mix of older homes in and around the historic town center and larger rural properties and ranch parcels on the surrounding acreage. Because it sits within San Luis Obispo County's inland foothills rather than a master-planned suburb, housing tends toward single-family residences on varied lot sizes, with open space and hillside views common. Inventory is limited by the community's size, and buyers are typically drawn by the combination of country living, access to Santa Margarita Lake, and proximity to Atascadero and San Luis Obispo rather than by dense development.

Neighborhoods

As a small unincorporated community, Santa Margarita functions as a single village rather than a set of distinct subdivisions. The older core clusters around the town's main streets, including H Street, where the local elementary school and long-established homes anchor the center. Around this core, residential roads spread into a rural fringe of larger lots, ranch properties, and hillside parcels that blend into the surrounding open landscape. The historic Santa Margarita Ranch wraps the community, reinforcing a cohesive, low-density character with no single large planned development dominating the area.

Lifestyle in Santa Margarita

Life in Santa Margarita is quiet, rural, and rooted in ranching tradition. The community is small enough that daily life revolves around the elementary school, local gathering places, and the surrounding ranchland rather than a commercial downtown. Its position along State Route 58 puts residents within easy reach of Atascadero to the north and San Luis Obispo to the southwest, while the Paso Robles wine country lies to the north. The pace is unhurried, and the landscape of oak-dotted foothills, open pastures, and the nearby lake shapes a lifestyle oriented to the outdoors and to the Central Coast's agricultural heritage.

Schools & Education

Santa Margarita is served by the Atascadero Unified School District, the public system for the northern San Luis Obispo County communities of Atascadero and Santa Margarita. Santa Margarita Elementary School operates within the community, offering programs including Gifted & Talented education, and is one of eight elementary schools in the district. Students continue on to Atascadero middle and high schools, giving Santa Margarita families access to the district's full K-12 pathway while allowing the community to retain its own local elementary campus. The small-school setting reflects the town's close-knit character.

Getting Around

Santa Margarita sits along State Route 58, a two-lane highway that crosses the Temblor Range toward California's Central Valley and links the community to US Highway 101 and the Central Coast corridor. This positioning places Santa Margarita a short drive north of San Luis Obispo and south of Atascadero, with Paso Robles and its wine country accessible to the north. The town's location near Cuesta Grade, the historic pass through the Santa Lucia Range, is part of its identity. Daily travel is largely by car on rural roads, and the community remains removed from major traffic congestion despite its proximity to the 101 corridor.

Parks & Recreation

Santa Margarita's defining outdoor amenity is Santa Margarita Lake Recreation Area, operated by San Luis Obispo County Parks. The reservoir supports boating and fishing, with developed campgrounds for overnight stays and roughly 25 miles of single-track and double-track trails around the lake. Adjoining the developed park, the Santa Margarita Lake Natural Area protects several thousand acres of open space managed for natural resources and passive recreation, open to hikers, bicyclists, and equestrians. The surrounding foothills and the historic ranch landscape offer further opportunities for riding, wildlife viewing, and exploring the oak-studded countryside.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

The Market at a Glance

How homes have been selling here over the last 90 days.

home_work New This Week 0
Went Under Contract 0
trending_down Price Reductions 0
payments Median Sale Price $875,000 +141.4%
square_foot Price per Sq Ft $624
schedule Avg Days on Market 195
sell Homes Sold 3
percent Sale-to-List Ratio 96.0%
inventory_2 Months of Inventory 17.7

Price & Sales History

Market data reflects closed sales over the last 90 days and is provided for informational purposes.

Zip Codes

BROWSE BY ZIP

Browse listings by postal code in this area.

039 homes for saleMedian sale$295K1 sale in the last 90 days
0000021 homes for saleMedian sale$370KPer sq ft$199 sales in the last 90 days
100231 home for saleMedian sale$1M2 sales in the last 90 days
111111 home for saleMedian sale$295K
123451 home for saleMedian sale$295K
218501 home for saleMedian sale$145KPer sq ft$1275 sales in the last 90 days
227132 homes for saleMedian sale$565KPer sq ft$2744 sales in the last 90 days
227401 home for saleMedian sale$315KPer sq ft$2643 sales in the last 90 days
483121 home for saleMedian sale$317KPer sq ft$166133 sales in the last 90 days
759641 home for saleMedian sale$205KPer sq ft$1151 sale in the last 90 days
760631 home for saleMedian sale$495KPer sq ft$190254 sales in the last 90 days
777601 home for saleMedian sale$129.4KPer sq ft$3101 sale in the last 90 days
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22070 W Pozo For Sale
$675,000
22070 W PozoSanta Margarita, CA 93453
  • 3 bd
  • 1 ba
  • 1650 sqft
  • Built 1900
  • NS26159158
Century 21 Masters
6395 Parkhill Road For Sale
$1,100,000
6395 Parkhill RoadSanta Margarita, CA 93453
  • 4 bd
  • 3.5 ba
  • 2949 sqft
  • Built 2003
  • PI26158848
Ocean West Properties, Inc.
1575 Parkhill Road For Sale
$1,089,000
1575 Parkhill RoadSanta Margarita, CA 93453
  • 4 bd
  • 2.5 ba
  • 2508 sqft
  • Built 2007
  • NS26109447
Platinum Properties
13470 De Sabla For Sale
$199,999
13470 De SablaSanta Margarita, CA 93453
  • 2 bd
  • 1 ba
  • 600 sqft
  • Built 1978
  • SC26108099
NextHome Central Coast
14555 Bellflower For Sale
$274,900
14555 BellflowerSanta Margarita, CA 93453
  • 3 bd
  • 4 ba
  • 1788 sqft
  • Built 2017
  • MB26100169
ARREOLAS REALTY
14355 Bella For Sale
$154,800
14355 BellaSanta Margarita, CA 93453
  • 2 bd
  • 1 ba
  • 696 sqft
  • Built 1969
  • MB26099130
ARREOLAS REALTY
3151 Parkhill For Sale
$1,450,000
3151 ParkhillSanta Margarita, CA 93453
  • 6 bd
  • 4 ba
  • 2929 sqft
  • Built 2003
  • SC26028672
Farrell Smyth Real Estate
6790 W Pozo For Sale
$2,295,000
6790 W PozoSanta Margarita, CA 93453
  • 7 bd
  • 5 ba
  • 4543 sqft
  • Built 1970
  • PI26061201
Central Coast Sotheby's International Realty
1535 Parkhill Road For Sale
$1,500,000
1535 Parkhill RoadSanta Margarita, CA 93453
  • 3 bd
  • 2 ba
  • 2400 sqft
  • Built 1973
  • NS26047139
Platinum Properties
14555 Artesia Trail For Sale
$199,500
14555 Artesia TrailSanta Margarita, CA 93453
  • 2 bd
  • 2 ba
  • 1152 sqft
  • Built 1985
  • NS25216670
RE/MAX Success
14451 Dorris Road For Sale
$499,000
14451 Dorris RoadSanta Margarita, CA 93453
  • 2 bd
  • 2 ba
  • 1377 sqft
  • Built 2005
  • NS25049507
eXp Realty of Greater Los Angeles, Inc.
11

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