The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Santa Clarita, CA
Santa Clarita is a city of 80,600 in Los Angeles County, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles · Updated November 2026
Is Santa Clarita, CA safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Santa Clarita has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A, safer than the neighborhoods where 61% of Americans live. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A+ against A-. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A-; see the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 881 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
61% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Santa Clarita as a whole, and 39% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Santa Clarita scores 881.
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 Clarita, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Santa Clarita, 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 Clarita
Aggravated assaults and robberies both run low. In Santa Clarita, each runs at less than half the US rate: 0.81 aggravated assaults and 0.27 robberies a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 and 0.62 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Santa Clarita
Every part of Santa Clarita where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Santa Clarita run from A+ to A-; 95% 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 Santa Clarita, the west side has the least crime and the southwest side the most.
Is crime going up in Santa Clarita?
Reported crime in Santa Clarita has risen since 2019: violent crime is up 22% and property crime up 17%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.3 to 1.6 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 9.8 to 11 (US: 18). Neither changed much from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Santa ClaritaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Santa Clarita. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Santa Clarita
Violent, US
Property, Santa Clarita
Property, US
2016
+18%
+4%
+44%
+15%
2017
+26%
+4%
+48%
+12%
2018
+5%
+0%
+18%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-4%
+4%
-11%
-8%
2021
+12%
+6%
-1%
-10%
2022
+20%
+5%
+8%
-6%
2023
+29%
+2%
+19%
-7%
2024
+22%
-4%
+17%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Santa Clarita
CrimeGrade™ estimates Santa Clarita has about 16 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 56% less than the US as a whole and 59% 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 makes up about 36% of crime reported in Santa Clarita. Assault is less common but 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.
The Santa Clarita Police Department reports to the FBI in a format that leaves out vandalism, so CrimeGrade™ makes its own vandalism estimate.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
How Santa Clarita compares with nearby cities
Santa Clarita has less crime than 9 of its 10 nearest cities; only Agua Dulce has less.
Empty homes, shops and walkability in Santa Clarita
Two things set Santa Clarita apart: it has 2.1% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 5.6 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, yet burglary and vandalism run higher here than that would suggest.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.2.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 95% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.5.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 89% 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. 94% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (11 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 72% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.9 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 80% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.26 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 78% 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 Santa Clarita: D (15 of 100).under 1 trip an hourUS: noneLower than for 67% 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 Santa Clarita
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Santa Clarita about $475 a year per household, 61% 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 $33 million a year, or $410 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.3 million
$16
Rape
$510,000
$6
Robbery
$670,000
$8
Assault
$3.4 million
$42
Burglary
$1.2 million
$15
Theft
$2.5 million
$31
Vehicle theft
$1.6 million
$20
Arson
$170,000
$2
Vandalism
$2.1 million
$26
Total
$13 million
$166
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 Clarita 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. Santa Clarita is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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 Clarita, CA average a SchoolGrade of A: 52% of students test proficient, against 42% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Santa Clarita on SchoolGrade
