City of Santa Clarita, CA - Quality of Life

	Geography
	Public Safety
	Transportation

Geography/Location

Located 35 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, the City of Santa Clarita encompasses 52.032 square miles of the approximately 200-square mile Santa Clarita Valley. Therefore, the City of Santa Clarita is the largest in geographic size within the County of Los Angeles. The City is situated south of the sierra Pelona mountain range and north of the Santa Susanna and San Gabriel mountain ranges between Interstate 5 and State Highway 14.

The latitude and longitude for Santa Clarita City Hall is 34°24'46" North and 118°33'6" West.
The City of Santa Clarita’s elevation is 1,200 feet above sea level. (Source: U.S. Geological Service)

Mileage to Key Centers

LOCATION	DISTANCE (miles) (MILES)	DIRECTIONAL
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)	40	south
Downtown Los Angeles	35	southeast
Burbank Airport (BUR)	25	south
Palmdale / Lancaster	35	northeast
San Fernando Valley	8	south
Port of Los Angeles	60	south
Port Hueneme	30	west

Climate

Santa Clarita enjoys a mild Southern California Mediterranean climate.

Summers are dry and warm in the 75° - 100° range.
Winters are temperate and semi-moist in the 40° - 65° range.
Precipitation reaches 15 to 18 inches primarily between November and March

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PUBLIC SAFETY

Based on statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (June 2003), Santa Clarita is the 5th safest city among cities in California of at least 100,000 in population. Based on cities with a population of at least 150,000 people, Santa Clarita is the safest in California and as well as in the country.

Part I crimes have increased by 0.5% in the City of Santa Clarita from 2001 to 2002, yet remain below the levels reported in 1996. Part I crimes, or “serious crimes,” are those defined by the FBI as criminal homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, grand theft auto, and arson.

Source: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Year in Review

TRANSPORTATION

Travel Time to Work
Approximately 3% of Santa Clarita residents at least 16 years of age who are employed work at home. The remaining 97% of residents travel an average of 33.0 minutes to work.

Commuting Method	% of Workers
Drive alone	78.0%
Carpool	13.6%
Public transportation	3.0%
Walk	1.3%
Other means	0.9%
Work at home	3.2%

Source: 2000 Bureau of the Census

Slightly less than one-half of those who commute to work, leave their homes between 5:00 AM and 7:30 AM.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2000

Public Transit Ridership

Santa Clarita Transit has experienced a 459% increase in the number of passengers utilizing the public transportation from Fiscal Year (FY) 1991-1992 to the estimated number of riders in FY 2000-2001. (Note: a fiscal year begins on July 1st and ends on June 30th.)

Source: Santa Clarita Transit, December 2001. FY 2000-2001 is unaudited.

The information above and in the table reflect data from July 1st through June 30th.

FISCAL YEAR	# OF RIDERS
1991-1992	530,222
1992-1993	935,261
1993-1994	1,098,564
1994-1995	1,345,710
1995-1996	1,619,037
1996-1997	1,777,857
1997-1998	2,002,907
1998-1999	2,235,079
1999-2000	2,384,919
2000-2001 (unaudited)	2,964,789

Source: Santa Clarita Transit, December 2001

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