Aptos is an unincorporated community of 15,600 in Santa Cruz County, about 8 miles east of downtown Santa Cruz · Updated November 2026
Is Aptos, CA safe?
Yes, crime in Aptos is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Aptos sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 59% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A and property crime A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Aptos run from A+ to B+, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 874 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
59% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Aptos as a whole, and 41% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Aptos scores 874.
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 crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime 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 Aptos, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Aptos, 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 in Aptos
Vehicle theft stands out among A-graded cities. For the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 0.93 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents; Aptos has 3.6.
Theft runs low. Aptos has 7.2 thefts a year per 1,000 residents, about half the US rate of 13.1.
The safest and least safe parts of Aptos
Every part of Aptos where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Aptos run from A+ to B+; 54% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Aptos, the northeast side has the least crime and the center the most.
Crime rates and types in Aptos
CrimeGrade™ estimates Aptos has about 27 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 28% less than the US as a whole and 32% less than California.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
The largest share of crime reported in Aptos is assault, about 37% of the total. It also makes up the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. 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.
How Aptos compares with nearby cities
Aptos has the least crime of its 8 nearest cities.
Two things set Aptos apart: it has 41% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally, and a Walk Grade of D- (8 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft and vandalism, and theft runs low 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.41% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 90% 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 and assault. 96% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (8 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 83% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.30 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 72% of US city residents
Show all 6
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Aptos: D+ (18 of 100).3 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 58% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.5 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 57% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.9.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 56% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Aptos 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 crime costs Aptos
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Aptos about $752 a year per household, 38% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $13 million a year, or $818 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$530,000
$34
Rape
$220,000
$14
Robbery
$150,000
$9
Assault
$1.7 million
$110
Burglary
$220,000
$14
Theft
$570,000
$37
Vehicle theft
$860,000
$55
Arson
$53,000
$3
Vandalism
$440,000
$28
Total
$4.7 million
$305
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Aptos means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
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.
Schools in Aptos, CA average a SchoolGrade of A: 48% of students test proficient, against 47% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Aptos on SchoolGrade
