Photo: Visitor7 · CC BY-SA 3.0Santa Clara is policed by the county: what that means
Inside a 10-mile circle sit 2 graded neighbors. Santa Clara has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Lane County. The Lane 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 Santa Clara alone, and no Safety Grade. The nearest town with a Safety Grade is Eugene, 4 miles away, graded D.
What stands out about safety in Santa Clara
Policed by the county
Santa Clara is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Lane County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Lane County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Santa Clara. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest Oregon towns with their own police figures are Eugene (D, 4 mi), Springfield (C−, 9 mi), Cottage Grove (C, 22 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Santa Clara. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Lane County Sheriff’s Office reports
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Lane County without police of their own, which include Santa Clara.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
Also reports crimes in Lane County to the FBI.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Lane 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 Oregon towns with a Safety Grade
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eugene | D | 4 mi | 3.4 | 30.7 |
| Springfield | C− | 9 mi | 3.0 | 25.8 |
| Cottage Grove | C | 22 mi | 2.6 | 16.2 |
| Sweet Home | C− | 29 mi | 2.4 | 26.2 |
| Lebanon | B | 31 mi | 1.5 | 9.2 |
| Philomath | B+ | 32 mi | 0.8 | 7.6 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Santa Clara. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Santa Clara.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Two people died in crashes on Santa Clara’s roads in 2019–2023
Santa Clara had 2 fatal crashes in five years, in which two people died; 1 was a pedestrian and 1 was a cyclist.
That is about what is typical for Oregon towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (3.5 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Santa Clara’s size would see about 2 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Santa Clara’s own rate (3.8) 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.
Santa Clara and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eugene | D | 3.4 | 30.7 |
| River Road | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. River Road is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its 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 Santa Clara
Is Santa Clara, OR safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Santa Clara. The nearest Oregon towns with a grade are Eugene (D, 4 mi), Springfield (C−, 9 mi), Cottage Grove (C, 22 mi).
Who polices Santa Clara?
The Lane County Sheriff’s Office. Santa Clara is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Lane 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 Santa Clara.
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.