Santa Clarita, CA, known as 'Awesometown,' offers a unique blend of suburban tranquility and modern urban amenities. Located in Los Angeles County, Santa Clarita is a large city that serves as a major cultural and economic hub. Major nearby cities like Los Angeles and Burbank enhance its status as a central point in the region. Santa Clarita's blend of scenic landscapes, cultural festivals, and urban amenities creates a distinctive living experience.
Santa Clarita is home to several iconic landmarks, including the Six Flags Magic Mountain, the historic William S. Hart Museum, and the scenic Placerita Canyon Nature Center. The city offers a variety of attractions, from the beautiful Central Park to the bustling Westfield Valencia Town Center, known for its shopping and dining. Santa Clarita's dining scene is diverse, offering everything from California cuisine to international dishes.
Annual events such as the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival and the Santa Clarita Marathon highlight the city's vibrant cultural scene and provide unique entertainment opportunities for residents and visitors. These events celebrate Santa Clarita's rich cultural heritage and community spirit. Prestigious institutions like California Institute of the Arts contribute to the city's academic and cultural vibrancy, fostering a thriving intellectual community.
The arts and culture scene in Santa Clarita is dynamic and diverse, with numerous theaters, music venues, and art galleries. The Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center and the Main Street Gallery are just a few of the cultural landmarks that showcase the city's commitment to the arts. Living in Santa Clarita provides ample opportunities to engage with art, music, and history, making it an exciting place to call home.
Santa Clarita’s community is welcoming and diverse, creating a friendly environment for newcomers. The city is home to professional sports teams like the Santa Clarita Blue Heat (WPSL), providing plenty of excitement for sports fans. Major industries in Santa Clarita include healthcare, education, and entertainment, with significant employers such as Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital and Six Flags Magic Mountain driving economic growth. The city has extensive public transit options, including buses and Metrolink, making commuting convenient for residents.
Crime
This area boasts a crime rate that is far below the national average, making it a very safe place to live. These crime statistics encompass both property and violent offenses.
Employment
With higher than average median household income, income per capita and lower unemployment rates, this area scores extremely well in the employment category.
Housing
Impressive scores in the housing category characterize this area, potentially attributed to the availability of affordable housing, strong appreciation rates and high home values.
Ratings
According to recent surveys and polls, locals had excellent ratings for walkability to nearby amenities, safety, access to public transit and the overall sense of community in the area.
Cost Of Living
This area is known for its high cost of living, which means you should anticipate higher costs for everyday goods and services, housing, groceries, and health care.
Health & Safety
Subpar air quality and the limited availability of certain health-related facilities such as hospitals, police stations, doctors and pharmacies may have contributed to the low score in this category.
Located in the state of California, Santa Clarita is a highly populated city with a population of 218,105 people. In Santa Clarita, there are 3,311 people per square mile, which is well above the national population density average. If we take a look at the last Census, the vast majority of the population falls within one racial group (66% White). Given that fact, Santa Clarita could be considered less diverse than other cities. Additionally, more than a quarter of the population of Santa Clarita are of Hispanic or Latino origin, and 20% of the population also speak Spanish. When traveling to work, spending unnecessary time in your vehicle is not ideal and downright frustrating. Across all of America, the average one way commute time is 26 minutes, unfortunately, living in Santa Clarita offers up a higher than average one way commute time of 37 minutes.
Are you trying to ascertain if living in Santa Clarita is the right fit for your lifestyle? To ensure a positive experience before moving to any new city in California, you will probably want to make sure that you check all of the most important boxes. Several key factors deserve attention. For one, safety is paramount, ensuring that your new area is low in crime is key. Proximity to workplaces or schools minimizes commute times and fosters convenience. Access to essential amenities like parks, grocery stores, food, fitness, shops and healthcare facilities enhances daily life. Efficient public transportation options provide mobility and connectivity. The sense of community creates a welcoming and supportive environment. Lastly, the overall atmosphere, encompassing the vibe, aesthetics, and lifestyle offerings, contributes to a fulfilling living experience. Considering these elements helps identify the ideal neighborhood for your needs and preferences. To help you find the best places to live in and around Santa Clarita, AreaVibes has created a livability score using key metrics like amenities, crime, commute, housing and more.
The livability score in Santa Clarita is 70 out of 100 and the city is ranked in the 77th percentile of all cities across America. There are nine total categories that generate the livability score. Santa Clarita scores well for crime (A), education (B) and housing (A-) The bad news for Santa Clarita, there are some categories for which it does not score well, this includes: cost of living (F).
Low rates of violent crime, encompassing offenses such as murder, rape, robbery and assault, contribute significantly to a safer living environment. This reduction in crime minimizes the chances of personal harm, property theft, or violent incidents. Furthermore, low crime rates can have a positive impact on property values and the overall desirability of an area. There were 165 crimes per 100,000 residents, which signifies that Santa Clarita boasts an impressively low violent crime rate that falls well below the national average.
Finding affordable real estate and housing in Santa Clarita can be tricky. Having said that, this area might be the place to get the best of both worlds. Based on factors like home/rental affordability and appreciation rates, this area has received an above average score in the housing category. A healthy real estate market can lead to wealth appreciation for property owners, as rising property values can contribute to homeowners' equity, financial stability and the ability to build long-term wealth.
Assuming that Santa Clarita meets all of your requirements like low crime rates, good schools and great local amenities, the next most important item to examine is the affordability of real estate in Santa Clarita. Everything else becomes a lot less important if it turns out that home prices in Santa Clarita are simply unattainable. The median home price for Santa Clarita homes is $997,133, which is 36.3% higher than the California average. If we take a closer look at the affordability of homes in Santa Clarita, we’ll see that the home price to income ratio is 6.5, which is 15.6% lower than the California average.
Why stop at city-to-city? With Local Insights, you can compare neighborhoods, zip codes, or even exact addresses. Access 300+ hyperlocal data points—from schools and crime to housing and amenities—to see which area is the better fit.
| Statistic | Santa Clarita | California | National |
| Average one way commute | 37min | 28min | 26min |
| Workers who drive to work | 77.4% | 73.5% | 76.4% |
| Workers who carpool | 8.9% | 10.6% | 9.3% |
| Workers who take public transit | 2.6% | 5.2% | 5.1% |
| Workers who bicycle | 0.2% | 1.1% | 0.6% |
| Workers who walk | 0.8% | 2.7% | 2.8% |
| Working from home | 8.8% | 5.4% | 4.6% |
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