Santa Cruz, CA Crime Statistics For 2025

Demographics | Crime | Cost Of Living
Updated: 2025-10-24

Crime Rate In Santa Cruz, CA Summary

Crime in Santa Cruz research summary. HomeSnacks has been using Saturday Night Science to report crime data in Santa Cruz over the past eight years using the FBI Crime Explorer. Based on the most recently available data released on October 17, 2023, we found the following about crime in Santa Cruz:

  • There were 1,919 total crimes committed in Santa Cruz in the last reporting year.
  • On a rate basis, there were 3,128.2 total crimes per 100K people in Santa Cruz.
  • The overall crime rate in Santa Cruz is 47.61% above the national average.
  • Santa Cruz ranks #384 safest out of 460 cities in California.
  • Santa Cruz ranks #8,701 safest out of 9,896 cities in the United States.

Because the crime rate is so low in America, we use "per 100,000 people" to make the number a bit easier to compare across locations visually. It's mathematically the same as per capita comparisons and isn't meant to convey that 100,000+ people live in a location.

Additional research about crime in California

Santa Cruz Vs California And National Crime Rates

According to the most recent data from the FBI, the total crime rate in Santa Cruz is 3,128.2 per 100,000 people. That's 47.61% higher than the national rate of 2,119.2 per 100,000 people and 21.98% higher than the California total crime rate of 2,564.5 per 100,000 people.

Statistic Count
Raw
Santa Cruz
/ 100k People
California
/ 100k People
National
/ 100k People
Total Crimes Per 100K 1,919 3,128.2 2,564.5 2,119.2
Murder 3 4.9 4.5 5.0
Robbery 63 102.7 119.1 61.0
Aggravated Assault 284 462.9 325.8 256.0
Violent Crime 376 612.9 486.0 359.0
Burglary 83 135.3 305.8 229.0
Larceny 1,363 2,221.8 1,345.2 1,272.0
Car Theft 97 158.1 427.5 259.0
Property Crime 1,543 2,515.2 2,078.4 1,760.0

Santa Cruz Crime Compared To California Averages

Each category of crime indexed to the worst per capita in California.
Data Source -- FBI UCR 2024.

Violent Crime Rates In Santa Cruz

376
Violent Crimes
612.9
Violent Crimes / 100k People
70.73%
Above The National Average
  • There were 376 violent crimes in Santa Cruz in the last reporting year.
  • The violent crime rate in Santa Cruz is 612.9 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 163.2 chance of being the victim of a violent crime in Santa Cruz each year. That compares to a 1 in 205.8 chance statewide.
  • That's 70.73% higher than the national rate of 359.0 per 100,000 people.
  • And 26.11% higher than the California violent crime rate of 486.0 per 100,000 people.

Property Crime Rates In Santa Cruz

1,543
Property Crimes
2,515.2
Property Crimes / 100k People
42.91%
Above The National Average
  • There were 1,543 property crimes in Santa Cruz in the last reporting year.
  • The property crime rate in Santa Cruz is 2,515.2 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 39.8 chance of being the victim of a property crime in Santa Cruz each year. That compares to a 1 in 0.0 chance nationally.
  • That's 42.91% higher than the national rate of 1,760.0 per 100,000 people.
  • And 21.02% higher than the California property crime rate of 2,078.4 per 100,000 people.

Crime In Cities Around Santa Cruz

City Population Count
Raw
Total Crime
/ 100k People
Property Crime
/ 100k People
Violent Crime
/ 100k People
Chandler, AZ 281,117 4,604 1,637.8 1,504.4 133.4
Tempe, AZ 191,376 6,438 3,364.1 2,893.8 470.3
Goodyear, AZ 116,892 1,923 1,645.1 1,462.9 182.2
Avondale, AZ 94,911 2,478 2,610.9 2,241.0 369.8
Maricopa, AZ 75,614 827 1,093.7 868.9 224.8
Tolleson, AZ 7,141 726 10,166.6 9,158.4 1,008.3
St. Johns, AZ 3,343 52 1,555.5 927.3 628.2

Santa Cruz SnackAbility

8
/10
Overall SnackAbility
Jobs
8/10
Housing
10
Affordability
3
Diversity
9
Safety
4
Amenities
9.5
Education
9
Commute
8
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