Central Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA Property Crime Rates and Maps
Central Santa Cruz is a neighborhood of 7,920 residents in Santa Cruz, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Central Santa Cruz?
Property crime is high in Central Santa Cruz: a C, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 83% of Americans live. Theft makes up 63% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades C, and vehicle theft grades B+. Santa Cruz as a whole grades B- for property crime.
C
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 413 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
17% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Central Santa Cruz as a whole, and 83% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Central Santa Cruz scores 413.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more property crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its property crime with the homes, parked cars and people there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Central Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Central Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out about property crime in Central Santa Cruz
Thefts and burglaries both run high. In Central Santa Cruz, each runs at more than double the US rate: 34.6 thefts and 5.8 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 and 2.4 nationally.
Property crime rates and types in Central Santa Cruz
CrimeGrade™ estimates Central Santa Cruz has about 55 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and 81% more than Santa Cruz as a whole.
All property crime
Burglary
Vehicle theft
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Property crime here includes vandalism, which the FBI's property crime rate leaves out.
Theft is the most common property crime in Central Santa Cruz, about 63% of the total, followed by vandalism and burglary.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a property crime with what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for vehicle theft, people and parking for theft, homes and businesses for vandalism. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Property crime in Central Santa Cruz and nearby neighborhoods
Of the 10 neighborhoods closest to Central Santa Cruz, 7 have less property crime. Rancho Rinconada and Westside have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Central Santa Cruz. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with neighborhoods of similar size and density, Central Santa Cruz is safer than 58% of them.
Night lighting, shops and walkability in Central Santa Cruz
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Central Santa Cruz apart: it has 16.0 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and a Walk Grade of B (60 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. It also combines many stores and restaurants with a lot of parking-lot space: places with both tend to report more theft and car theft than places with only one of them, and they run high here.
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.98% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 92% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft and car theft.16.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 82% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 55% of residents here live in walkable areas.B (60 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 71% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.6 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 79% of residents of US city neighborhoods
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What property crime costs Central Santa Cruz
Property crime costs Central Santa Cruz about $3.0 million a year, or $375 per resident and about $945 per household: the value of what is stolen or damaged, plus the police, courts and prisons that respond.
Cost of property crime per resident, per year
How CrimeGrade™ works
The property crime CrimeGrade™ covers burglary, theft, car theft, arson and vandalism, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each property crime against what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for car theft, and the people and parking around stores for theft.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them. Central Santa Cruz is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
