Capitola is a city of 9,320 in Santa Cruz County, about 4 miles east of downtown Santa Cruz · Updated November 2026
Is Capitola, CA safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in Capitola is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Capitola sits near the middle: 44% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 56% in neighborhoods with less. Violent crime grades A- and property crime B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Capitola run from A- to C, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 805 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
44% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Capitola as a whole, and 56% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Capitola scores 805.
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 Capitola, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Capitola, 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 Capitola
Robbery stands out among A-graded cities. For the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 0.13 robberies a year per 1,000 residents; Capitola has 1.1.
Car thefts are less common than the crime level suggests. Crime overall in Capitola runs 53% above the US rate, but car thefts run 31% below it: 1.9 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
Crime rates and types in Capitola
CrimeGrade™ estimates Capitola has about 57 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 53% more than the US as a whole and 43% more 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.
Theft is the most common crime in Capitola, about 55% of everything reported, and it also accounts for 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 Capitola compares with nearby cities
Capitola has more crime than 5 of its 7 nearest cities. Felton and Aptos have the least crime nearby.
Two things set Capitola apart: it has 42.2 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and a Walk Grade of B- (50 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report more theft, and it runs high here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.42.2 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 99% 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.B- (50 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 92% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.51% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 84% of US city residents
Show all 6
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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 78% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.60 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 75% of US city residents
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 Capitola: C- (28 of 100).3 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 60% of US city residents
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 Capitola
Crime costs Capitola about $1,088 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 10% 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 $1,367 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$520,000
$55
Rape
$390,000
$42
Robbery
$330,000
$35
Assault
$1.3 million
$137
Burglary
$140,000
$15
Theft
$1.5 million
$160
Vehicle theft
$270,000
$29
Arson
$99,000
$11
Vandalism
$470,000
$50
Total
$5.0 million
$534
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 Capitola 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 Capitola, CA average a SchoolGrade of B+: 42% of students test proficient, against 35% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Capitola on SchoolGrade
