The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Santa Barbara County, CA
Santa Barbara County is home to 443,700 residents and includes Santa Maria and Santa Barbara · Updated November 2026
Is Santa Barbara County, CA safe?
Yes, crime in Santa Barbara County is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Santa Barbara County sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 41% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A- and property crime B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Santa Barbara County run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 787 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
41% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Santa Barbara County as a whole, and 59% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Santa Barbara County scores 787.
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 Santa Barbara County, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Santa Barbara County, 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 Santa Barbara County
Arson at more than double the US rate. Santa Barbara County has 0.29 arsons a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.12 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in Santa Barbara County
Low crime is the norm across Santa Barbara County: 78% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 7% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Santa Barbara County run from A+ to F; 31% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
78%15%
A or B 78%C 15%D or F 7%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Santa Barbara County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the Solvang, Buellton, and Santa Ynez areas have the least crime and the Santa Maria area the most.
Crime rates and types in Santa Barbara County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Santa Barbara County has about 35 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 6% less than the US as a whole and close to 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.
Assault is the most common crime in Santa Barbara County, about 34% 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 Santa Barbara County compares with nearby counties
Santa Barbara County has less crime than 6 of its 10 nearest counties.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Santa Barbara County. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Santa Barbara County has more crime than 60% of them.
Density, walkability and empty homes in Santa Barbara County
Two things set Santa Barbara County apart: it has 46% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and 4.7% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places where many residents live in dense blocks tend to report more robbery, and it runs high here.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.46% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 84% of Americans
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. 64% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (28 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 83% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.4.7% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 73% of Americans
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.10.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 59% of Americans
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 Santa Barbara County: D+ (19 of 100).1 trips an hourUS: noneLower than for 58% of Americans
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.83% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 57% of Americans
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 Santa Barbara County
Crime costs Santa Barbara County about $1,244 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, about the same as the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $185 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $544 million a year, or $1,226 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$17 million
$38
Rape
$15 million
$33
Robbery
$11 million
$26
Assault
$67 million
$152
Burglary
$8.2 million
$18
Theft
$22 million
$50
Vehicle theft
$19 million
$44
Arson
$3.1 million
$7
Vandalism
$22 million
$49
Total
$185 million
$416
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 Santa Barbara County 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 Santa Barbara County, CA average a SchoolGrade of C: 35% of students test proficient, against 35% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Santa Barbara County on SchoolGrade
