Santa Monica Metrics
Crime, budget, vacancy, and tourism data for Santa Monica — click any metric to see full details and historical trends.
LA County City Rankings
All 88 incorporated LA County cities ranked by composite score (Part 1 crime rate + Part 2 crime rate + budget deficit %). Rank #1 = best. Data: 2024.
| Rank ↕ | City ↕ | Part 1 Rate ↕ | Part 2 Rate ↕ | Deficit % ↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Data Sources & Methodology
Crime Data
Part 1 and Part 2 crime counts are sourced from California Department of Justice OpenJustice and individual city police department annual reports (2024). Crime rates are calculated per 100,000 residents using California Department of Finance population estimates (January 2024).
- Part 1 crimes include homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
- Part 2 crimes include simple assault, vandalism, fraud, drug offenses, DUI, and other minor offenses.
Budget Deficit Data
Budget figures are from the California State Controller's ByTheNumbers database (FY 2023–24). Budget deficit percentage = (total expenditures − total revenues) ÷ total revenues × 100. Negative values indicate a surplus; positive values indicate a deficit.
Ranking Methodology
Each city receives three component ranks (1 = best, 88 = worst):
- Part 1 Crime Rank — lowest crime rate = rank 1
- Part 2 Crime Rank — lowest crime rate = rank 1
- Budget Deficit Rank — lowest deficit % (or largest surplus) = rank 1
The overall rank is the average of the three component ranks, sorted ascending. Ties are broken alphabetically.
Caveats
- Some smaller cities (population < 5,000) have high per-capita rates due to low denominators.
- Cities with special purpose economies (Vernon, Industry) may skew significantly.
- Crime reporting practices vary by department; under-reporting affects comparisons.
- Budget figures include all funds unless otherwise noted.
- Data is updated annually — next update expected Q1 2026.