The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Carpinteria, CA
Carpinteria is a city of 16,000 in Santa Barbara County, about 65 miles southeast of downtown Santa Maria · Updated November 2026
Is Carpinteria, CA safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A means crime in Carpinteria is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Carpinteria sits near the middle: 54% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 46% in neighborhoods with less. Violent crime grades A and property crime A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Carpinteria run from A+ to B+, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 853 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
54% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Carpinteria as a whole, and 46% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Carpinteria scores 853.
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 Carpinteria, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Carpinteria, 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 Carpinteria
Robberies run high for an A-graded city. Carpinteria has 0.64 robberies a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 0.13.
The safest and least safe parts of Carpinteria
Every part of Carpinteria where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Carpinteria run from A+ to B+; 47% 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 Carpinteria, the east side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Carpinteria?
Reported property crime in Carpinteria has risen 15% since 2019. Too few violent crimes are reported here each year for a reliable violent crime trend. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 12 to 14 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
CarpinteriaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Carpinteria. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Carpinteria
Property, US
2016
+48%
+15%
2017
+77%
+12%
2018
+35%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+51%
-8%
2021
+43%
-10%
2022
+9%
-6%
2023
+27%
-7%
2024
+15%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Carpinteria
CrimeGrade™ estimates Carpinteria has about 30 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 20% less than the US as a whole and 25% 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.
Theft is the most common crime in Carpinteria, about 32% of everything reported, but assault costs more, because each one does more harm.
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 Carpinteria compares with nearby cities
Of the 6 cities closest to Carpinteria, 4 have less crime. Oak View and Mira Monte have the least.
Two things set Carpinteria apart: it has 15.0 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 39% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.15.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 87% 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. 65% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (27 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 77% 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.39% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 75% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.58 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 74% 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.86% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 66% 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 Carpinteria: D+ (22 of 100).under 1 trip an hourUS: noneLower than for 59% 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 Carpinteria
Crime costs Carpinteria about $810 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 33% 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 $799 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$440,000
$28
Rape
$220,000
$14
Robbery
$320,000
$20
Assault
$1.7 million
$108
Burglary
$280,000
$17
Theft
$790,000
$49
Vehicle theft
$450,000
$28
Arson
$60,000
$4
Vandalism
$660,000
$41
Total
$4.9 million
$309
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 Carpinteria 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 Carpinteria, CA average a SchoolGrade of B+: 42% of students test proficient, against 40% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Carpinteria on SchoolGrade
