Goleta is a city of 58,700 in Santa Barbara County, about 50 miles southeast of downtown Santa Maria · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Goleta?
Goleta earns a B+ for property crime, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 60% of Americans live. Theft makes up 48% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A-, and vehicle theft grades A-.
B+
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 758 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
40% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Goleta as a whole, and 60% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Goleta scores 758.
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 Goleta, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Goleta, 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 Goleta
Arson is the exception. Goleta grades B+ for property crime, but arson grades C+, worse than in the neighborhoods where 93% of Americans live.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Goleta
Property crime varies widely across Goleta: 71% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 27% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Goleta run from A+ to F.
71%27%
A or B 71%C 2%D or F 27%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Is property crime going up in Goleta?
Reported property crime in Goleta peaked in 2020 and has fallen 12% since, back near its 2019 level. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts stayed at about 16 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
GoletaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Goleta. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Goleta
Property, US
2016
-3%
+15%
2017
-9%
+12%
2018
-30%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+14%
-8%
2021
+11%
-10%
2022
+4%
-6%
2023
-8%
-7%
2024
-0%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Goleta
CrimeGrade™ estimates Goleta has about 18 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 23% less than the US as a whole and 34% less than California.
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 Goleta, about 48% of the total, followed by vandalism and vehicle theft.
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 Goleta and nearby cities
Of the 9 cities closest to Goleta, 7 have less property crime. Santa Ynez and Los Olivos have the least.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Goleta apart: it has 53% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and a Walk Grade of C- (29 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Even so, 61% of residents in Goleta live in car-dependent areas, where most errands take a car. Places like that tend to report more car theft, and it runs high here.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.53% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 85% of US city residents
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.C- (29 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 79% of US city residents
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.88% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 64% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.4 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 63% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.9.3 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 60% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Goleta: C- (30 of 100).under 1 trip an hourUS: noneLower than for 59% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Goleta on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Goleta
Property crime costs Goleta about $7.9 million a year, or $135 per resident and about $446 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 the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering add little to the cost of property crime, so this is close to its full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Burglary
$900,000
$15
Theft
$2.7 million
$46
Vehicle theft
$1.5 million
$26
Arson
$360,000
$6
Vandalism
$2.4 million
$41
Total
$7.9 million
$135
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.
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.
