Santa Barbara crime: the official numbers
California police departments report crimes to the state Department of Justice (DOJ), which publishes them through OpenJustice. The table shows offenses reported by the Santa Barbara Police Department (SBPD) in the DOJ's Crimes and Clearances file for 1985 to 2025, published in July 2026, with 2025 the latest year available.
| Year | Violent crimes | Property crimes | Burglaries | Arson |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 397 | 3,060 | 433 | 20 |
| 2019 | 400 | 2,118 | 254 | 15 |
| 2020 | 389 | 2,188 | 217 | 17 |
| 2021 | 410 | 2,371 | 327 | 29 |
| 2022 | 412 | 1,847 | 232 | 22 |
| 2023 | 522 | 1,550 | 203 | 20 |
| 2024 | 554 | 1,552 | 146 | 9 |
| 2025 | 556 | 1,433 | 147 | 15 |
In 2025 the violent total was made up of 1 homicide, 70 rapes, 60 robberies and 425 aggravated assaults. Property crimes were 147 burglaries, 125 motor vehicle thefts and 1,161 larceny-thefts. Two trends stand out. Property crime has more than halved since 2016, from 3,060 to 1,433, and burglaries fell from 433 to 147. Violent crime rose from 400 in 2019 to 556 in 2025, about 39%, and almost all of that rise is aggravated assault, which went from 244 to 425. Robberies fell over the same years, from 82 to 60.
Santa Barbara crime per 1,000 residents
Using the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 population estimate of 87,779 for the city, SBPD's 2025 counts equal about 6.3 violent crimes and 16.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents. That denominator counts residents only. Santa Barbara draws large numbers of visitors, commuters and students, so per-resident rates overstate the risk to any one person compared with a city that has few visitors.
How Santa Barbara compares with the county and the state
In the same DOJ file, violent crime rose about 22% across all Santa Barbara County agencies between 2019 and 2025 but fell about 2% statewide. Property crime fell about 19% in the county and 23% statewide. SBPD's property count fell faster, by 32%, while its violent count rose faster than the county's. Because a handful of offense types drive these swings, read the breakdown above before drawing a conclusion from a percentage.
What the crime numbers do and do not tell you
These are crimes reported to police, not the number of victims or every crime that happened. Some offenses, such as thefts from cars and bike thefts, go unreported. Counts also follow where people gather, not only where they live: State Street, the Funk Zone, the waterfront, Stearns Wharf, East Beach and the shopping centers on upper State Street draw crowds, and busy places tend to log more incidents than quiet residential blocks.
The DOJ file also records clearances, meaning offenses closed by arrest or by exceptional means. In 2025 SBPD cleared 362 of 556 violent crimes, about 65%, and 228 of 1,433 property crimes, about 16%. Statewide that year, the same file shows about 46% of violent and 11% of property crimes cleared.
City limits and which agency reports
SBPD figures cover only the City of Santa Barbara. Many addresses with a Santa Barbara mailing address are outside city limits: Census maps put most of the land in ZIPs 93110 and 93111 in the unincorporated Eastern Goleta Valley, and most of 93108 in Montecito and other unincorporated areas. Crimes there are reported by other agencies, such as the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department, whose DOJ totals cover a much larger area and cannot be compared one for one with SBPD. Before you use any figure, confirm which agency serves the address.
We do not list neighborhoods as safer or less safe. No official dataset publishes crime by Santa Barbara neighborhood, and third-party "crime scores" usually blend sources and estimate figures for areas with no official breakdown.
How to check crime near a Santa Barbara address
SBPD Community Crime Map
The Santa Barbara Police Department's crime mapping page links to the Community Crime Map, where you can query and map selected crimes for a neighborhood or near any intersection in the city. Look at several months, not one week, before drawing conclusions about a block.
SBPD Compstat reports
The same page posts the department's monthly Compstat reports. The newest posted is for December 2023, uploaded in January 2024, with archives back to 2019. They show month-by-month counts that fill in the annual DOJ totals, but they are not current, so use OpenJustice and the crime map for recent years.
SBPD Records Bureau
For a specific report, or for statistics the public tools do not show, contact the Records Bureau. It handles public records requests under Government Code section 7920 and reports crime statistics to the DOJ. Since June 1, 2026 the department lobby is open Monday to Saturday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.; the information line is 805-897-2355. Non-violent incidents inside city limits, other than on Highways 101, 154 or 192, can be reported through SBPD's online reporting system.
California DOJ OpenJustice
OpenJustice publishes yearly crimes, clearances, arrests and arson for every agency back to 1985, on the same definitions. It is the best source for long-term trends and for comparing Santa Barbara with other California cities. It stops at the city level.
FBI Crime Data Explorer
The FBI's Crime Data Explorer shows national Uniform Crime Reporting data by agency, including rates per 100,000 residents and state and national comparisons. Search for the Santa Barbara Police Department, and check which years the agency reported in full, because gaps can distort trends.
Megan's Law database
The California DOJ's Megan's Law site lets the public search information on registered sex offenders. Check it for any address you are considering.
Fire, flood and tsunami are risks too
For most Santa Barbara owners, a natural hazard is more likely to cost money than a crime, and these hazards are mapped by official agencies down to the parcel.
Santa Barbara's High Fire Hazard Areas
The city fire department warns that homes in its High Fire Hazard Areas are at risk from wildland fire and names the Sycamore, Painted Cave, Tea and Jesusita fires. Check a parcel in the city's MAPS viewer by turning on the Fire, High Fire Hazard Area layer. Sellers in those areas must give buyers a home hardening and defensible space disclosure, and insurers price the risk. See our California wildfire zones guide and homeowners insurance guide.
Flood zones on the Santa Barbara coast
Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, especially near creeks and the waterfront. A federally backed mortgage on a home in a high-risk flood zone requires flood insurance, which standard homeowners policies exclude.
Tsunami and earthquake
The California Geological Survey publishes tsunami hazard area maps with a Santa Barbara County page; check any address near the harbor or the beach. The city's Office of Emergency Services links to Cal OES MyHazards, which shows several hazards for one address, and recommends ReadySBC alerts and the countywide Emergency Zones Map. Ask your insurer about earthquake coverage; see our earthquake insurance guide.
A checklist before you buy or rent in Santa Barbara
- Confirm whether the address is inside city limits, and which police agency serves it.
- Map several months of incidents on the Community Crime Map for the surrounding blocks.
- Visit at different times, including a Friday or Saturday night if the home is near State Street or the Funk Zone.
- Search the Megan's Law site.
- Check the city's High Fire Hazard Area layer, FEMA's flood map and the CGS tsunami map.
- Get insurance quotes before you remove your contingencies.
- Ask the landlord or HOA about lighting, locks, gated parking and any security incidents.
For daily life in the city, see is Santa Barbara a good place to live; for the areas themselves, the Santa Barbara neighborhoods guide; and for statewide comparisons on the same sources, our safest places to live in California guide.