The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Santa Barbara, CA: Crime Maps and Statistics

D+

Overall Crime Grade™

Violent Crime Grade	D-
Property Crime Grade	D
Other Crime Grade	B+

Which crimes are included?

$59.9 million

Cost of Crime™ for Santa Barbara, CA

In 2025, crime will cost $1,251 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Santa Barbara with the least crime overall and red marks the most. Each area is weighted by the type and severity of every offense, so a place with rare but serious violent crime can grade differently from one with frequent petty theft. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read the colors.

Is Santa Barbara, CA Safe?

The D+ overall grade blends the violent, property, and other grades shown above into one measure, set against the average US city, where Santa Barbara's combined rate is higher than the norm. Santa Barbara sits in the 28th percentile, ahead of 28% of cities and behind 72%. The grade covers only Santa Barbara's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities.

The overall crime rate in Santa Barbara is 32.72 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the northeast part of the city the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 20 in the southeast neighborhoods to 1 in 43 in the northeast.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the southeast parts of Santa Barbara, CA report the most crime, about 955 cases per year. The northeast part reports the fewest, around 55 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Santa Barbara, CA

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in Santa Barbara for 2025 is $59,866,749, about $492 per resident and $1,251 per household. That equals 0.8% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 54.2%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 34.4%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 11.2%

How Much Does Crime Cost in Santa Barbara Compared to Other Cities?

Santa Barbara, CA:	$492
Lodi, CA:	$1387
Rescue, CA:	$213
California:	$491
USA:	$464

The overall cost of crime per resident in Santa Barbara is $492 per year, which is $28 more than the national average and $1 more than California's state average. The comparison below uses cities similar to Santa Barbara:

In Lodi, CA, crime costs $1,387 per person, which is $895 more than in Santa Barbara.
In Rescue, CA, crime costs $213 per person, which is $279 less than in Santa Barbara

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

The table below shows the total cost of crime to the residents of Santa Barbara for the year 2025 along with the projected cost per resident.

Crime	Cost to Santa Barbara	Cost per Santa Barbara Resident
Murder	$8.06 million	$66
Rape/Sexual Assault	$3.92 million	$32
Robbery	$4.40 million	$36
Assault	$15.5 million	$127
Kidnapping	$1.98 million	$16
Vehicle Theft	$8.40 million	$69
Burglary	$4.81 million	$39
Theft	$8.03 million	$66
Arson	$790,020	$6
Vandalism	$1.64 million	$13
Animal Cruelty	$21,796	$0
Drug Crimes	$2.03 million	$17
Identity Theft	$305,465	$3
Total Cost of Crime	$59,866,749	$492

The Intangible Cost of Crime in Santa Barbara, CA

The totals above count tangible costs only. Violent crime also carries a human cost, the pain and trauma borne by victims and their families, which research-based methods estimate so it can be compared across places. That intangible cost in Santa Barbara totals $78,746,104 ($647 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $138,612,852 ($1,139 per resident). All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Crime Maps

Crime rates on the map are measured per resident, so areas with heavy visitor traffic can read high because crime follows crowds, even where few people live. The southeast part of the city holds more retail establishments, which lifts recorded crime around those blocks. A red area does not always mean the neighborhood is unsafe for residents.

Airports, parks, and transit hubs create the same effect. Major airports draw large crowds with few residents nearby, so they read as high-crime spots. Parks and recreational areas, of which Santa Barbara has 46, do the same, and of Santa Barbara's 121,691 residents few live beside them. Before assuming an area is unsafe, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total number of incidents, and note what sits nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Santa Barbara, CA at ISP Reports.

Santa Barbara Crime Breakdown

The tables below show which crimes are used to calculate the Crime Grades above. All crime rates are shown as the number of crimes per 1,000 Santa Barbara residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	4.434
Robbery	1.149
Rape	0.5306
Murder	0.0352
Total Violent Crime	6.149 (D-)

Property Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Theft	12.74
Vehicle Theft	4.457
Burglary	4.353
Arson	0.2688
Total Property Crime	21.82 (D)

Other Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Kidnapping	0.2682
Drug Crimes	2.256
Vandalism	1.883
Identity Theft	0.3243
Animal Cruelty	0.0242
Total "Other" Rate	4.755 (B+)

Individual Santa Barbara Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Cities

Compared to surrounding cities, the rate of crime in Santa Barbara is higher. The table below shows Crime Grades for cities close to Santa Barbara.

Nearby City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Montecito, CA	D	D	D-
Isla Vista, CA	C+	D	C-
Goleta, CA	C-	D+	D
Summerland, CA	C	D-	D+
Ellwood, CA	C	C	D+
Toro Canyon, CA	C-	D-	D
Carpinteria, CA	C	D	D+
Meiners Oaks, CA	D	D-	D-
Oak View, CA	C-	D	D+
Mira Monte, CA	C	D	D

Crime Maps and Rates for City with Similar Populations

Santa Barbara is similar versus other cities of the same size for crime. The table below compares crime in cities with comparable overall population in the city‘s boundaries.

Similar City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Baton Rouge, LA	D	D-	D-
Baytown, TX	C-	D+	D+
Atascocita, TX	C-	C-	C-
Auburn, AL	C	C+	C+
Aurora, CO	D-	D	D
Alhambra, CA	C-	D+	D+
Apple Valley, CA	C-	D+	D+
Anchorage, AK	D+	F	F
Antioch, CA	C-	D+	D+
Bayamon, PR	D-	D-	D-

Considering only the crime rate, Santa Barbara is as safe as the California state average and as safe as the national average.

Safety and school performance are separate topics, but both shape moving decisions. Using SchoolGrade data, schools in Santa Barbara, CA average SchoolGrade of C, with 35% actual proficiency versus 41% projected; overall, schools underperform expectations. See Santa Barbara schools on SchoolGrade

About the Data

CrimeGrade.org provides highly detailed and accurate crime data, used by insurance companies, home security firms, and other industries. Our data is available for licensing—learn more about our USA crime data and licensing.

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All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.