Mesa, Santa Barbara, CA Property Crime Rates and Maps
Mesa is a neighborhood of 9,610 residents in Santa Barbara, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Mesa?
Mesa earns a B+ for property crime, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 60% of Americans live. Theft makes up 52% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A, and vehicle theft grades A-. Santa Barbara as a whole grades B+ for property crime.
B+
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 756 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
40% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Mesa 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-. Mesa scores 756.
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 Mesa, Santa Barbara, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Mesa in Santa Barbara, 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 Mesa
Burglaries are less common than in most neighborhoods graded B for property crime. Mesa has 1.2 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of a US neighborhood graded B for property crime, the figure is 2.5.
Car thefts happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Santa Barbara as a whole, 75% of reported car thefts happen on streets and sidewalks, against 27% nationally.
Property crime rates and types in Mesa
CrimeGrade™ estimates Mesa has about 16 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 31% less than the US as a whole and 24% less than Santa Barbara 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 Mesa, about 52% 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.
Where and when property crime happens in Santa Barbara
The Santa Barbara Police Department polices Mesa; these figures cover Santa Barbara as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Santa Barbara as a whole, 44% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (44%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (75%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (46%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (27%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Mesa and nearby neighborhoods
Mesa has less property crime than 7 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, one sets Mesa apart: it has 2.1% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, yet vandalism runs higher here than that would suggest.
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.62% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 99% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Mesa: C- (25 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 95% 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. 79% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (21 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 70% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.2.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 94% 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 Mesa
Property crime costs Mesa about $1.1 million a year, or $115 per resident and about $278 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.
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.
