How dark is the sky in Santa Monica, CA?

Santa Monica's sky measures urban here. Sky glow overhead most nights. Typically only planets, the Moon, and a handful of the brightest stars are visible. That's brighter than 89.1% of the 3,206 US cities in this dataset.

Worth remembering: this is satellite radiance, not a ground observation. A true Bortle rating needs a human eye at night, this is the closest large-scale substitute.

The nearest darker sky to Santa Monica

The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is Culver City, CA, roughly 6 miles away in a straight line, rated suburban. Road distance will be more.

Culver City, CA is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

Santa Monica against the rest of the dataset

About 90,729 people live in Santa Monica, CA, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Among all 3,206 cities here, Santa Monica ranks 2,842 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.