Is Santa Cruz safe? United States travel risk
Is Santa Cruz safe right now? Checked 17 October 2026
Santa Cruz scores 41/100 on our travel risk index (Moderate). The UK has no advice against travel; Canada says: exercise normal security precautions. The US State Department does not issue advice for United States. No GDACS or USGS hazard events within 100 km in the last 14 days. No change in government advice in the last 7 days.
Santa Cruz scores 41/100 (Moderate). The score combines security, crime and scams, health and medical access, natural hazards and current alerts measured for this location and United States (how it is calculated). The sections below are specific to Santa Cruz: nearest emergency and transport facilities, local climate normals, 5-year natural hazard history within 100 km, frequently asked questions.
Driven by: security (35/100) and natural hazards (54/100).
A score of 41 is higher than 43% of the cities we score.
Consult the United States travel risk page for nationwide security advisories, entry protocols, and consular warnings.
Location & Spatial Data
Geographically located in California (36.9789° N, 122.0346° W), Santa Cruz sits 3,913.3 km ENE from Washington at 11 m elevation.
California
36.9789° N, 122.0346° W
11 m
America/Los_Angeles
165,263
Transit Links & Medical Facilities
Proximate Regional Communities (United States)
Climate by Month
Hottest: July (30 °C avg high); Wettest: January (107 mm).
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °C | 16° | 17° | 18° | 21° | 25° | 28° | 30° | 30° | 30° | 26° | 19° | 15° |
| Low °C | 7° | 7° | 8° | 10° | 12° | 14° | 16° | 17° | 16° | 14° | 10° | 7° |
| Rain mm | 107 | 96 | 87 | 43 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 63 | 93 |
Normals: San Jose (39.5 km away).
Natural Hazard Calendar & History
5-Year Hazard Calendar (100 km Radius)
| Hazard | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floods | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wildfires | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — |
Most flood events within 100 km of Santa Cruz happened in February (1 of 1 in five years).
Source: GDACS, USGS; five years to October 2026.
For consular advice on women's safety, LGBT+ travel, and local laws, see the United States travel advice & laws.
Check the official entry requirements for your nationality before you travel. See the United States entry requirements.
Surrounding Places with Full Dossiers
Questions travellers ask about Santa Cruz
Is Santa Cruz safe?
Santa Cruz currently scores 41/100 on our composite travel risk index (moderate risk; lower is safer). Official advice can change quickly, so check it again shortly before you travel.
Sources: Travel Risk Calculator — Santa Cruz · Methodology
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