Photo: Cristiano Tomás · CC BY-SA 4.0Recorded crime in Rio del Mar, without a grade
Rio del Mar has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Santa Cruz County. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Rio del Mar alone, and no Safety Grade. Of the graded towns, Capitola is the closest, at C−.
What stands out about safety in Rio del Mar
Policed by the county
Rio del Mar is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Rio del Mar. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest California towns with their own police figures are Capitola (C−, 4 mi), Watsonville (C, 7 mi), Santa Cruz (D, 8 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Rio del Mar. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office reports
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Santa Cruz County without police of their own, which include Rio del Mar.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
The nearest California towns with a Safety Grade
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capitola | C− | 4 mi | 3.2 | 28.0 |
| Watsonville | C | 7 mi | 4.7 | 12.0 |
| Santa Cruz | D | 8 mi | 6.0 | 24.8 |
| Scotts Valley | C+ | 10 mi | 2.2 | 14.6 |
| Gilroy | C− | 17 mi | 4.7 | 23.3 |
| Morgan Hill | C+ | 18 mi | 2.2 | 13.3 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Rio del Mar. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Rio del Mar.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
One person died in crashes on Rio del Mar’s roads in 2019–2023
Rio del Mar had 1 fatal crash in five years, in which one person died; 1 was a pedestrian.
That is about what is typical for California towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (5.6 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Rio del Mar’s size would see about 3 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Rio del Mar’s own rate (2.2) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Rio del Mar and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Selva Beach | — | — | — |
| Seacliff | — | — | — |
| Aptos | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. La Selva Beach, Seacliff and Aptos are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- A county agency covers a wide area. Its totals mix many communities, so they say little about any one of them.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Rio del Mar
Is Rio del Mar, CA safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Rio del Mar. The nearest California towns with a grade are Capitola (C−, 4 mi), Watsonville (C, 7 mi), Santa Cruz (D, 8 mi).
Who polices Rio del Mar?
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. Rio del Mar is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Santa Cruz County without police of their own.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Rio del Mar.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.