State crime profile · 2024

California Crime Rates: Safest & Most Dangerous Cities

Crime data for 458 cities and 56 of 58 counties in California (CA), ranked safest to most dangerous from 865 reporting agencies.

Data updated 2026-09-05

476.8
Violent / 100K
1,985.9
Property / 100K
458
Cities
56
Counties

California violent crime is 476.8 per 100,000, 35% above the U.S. average

According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program for 2024, California records 476.8 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, 35% above the national average (about the 45th-safest of 51 states and D.C.). Statewide averages hide city and county variation; UCR participation is voluntary.

  • 476.8 violent crimes per 100K
  • +35% vs. the U.S. average
  • 27,656 Los Angeles violent-crime reports, volume #1 of 269
  • 1,925.3/100K Oakland rate #1 (volume #2)

How safe is California? FBI UCR data snapshot

California (CA) reported 187,992 violent crimes and 783,051 property crimes in 2024, based on FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program submissions from 865 law enforcement agencies. That translates to a statewide violent crime rate of 476.8 per 100,000 residents and a property crime rate of 1985.9 per 100,000 against a reporting population of 39,431,263. The PlainCrime dataset indexes 458 California cities and 56 counties, each with their own detail pages and local crime figures drawn from FBI UCR Tables 8 and 10.

The FBI's state-level summary reports violent and property crime as aggregate totals rather than broken out by individual offense type (murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, arson). For an offense-by-offense breakdown, see the individual city and county pages for California below, which draw on FBI UCR Tables 8 and 10 and do report each offense type separately.

Across 11 years of state-level UCR history (2014–2024), the violent crime rate moved from 390.6 to 476.8 per 100,000, a rise of 22.1%. City-level detail pages within California include safety grades (A+ to F), benchmarks against national averages, per-capita risk estimates, and multi-year trend tables for users comparing specific jurisdictions. All figures above are drawn from FBI UCR 2024 submissions; reporting completeness varies by agency, and the FBI periodically restates prior-year figures as late submissions arrive.

How California ranks nationally

California vs. every U.S. state

Violent crime per 100,000 residents, FBI UCR 2024. Lower is safer.

477 12th percentile among 51 U.S. states

CA 0 1,100+ every state & DC, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band of values; taller bars hold more U.S. states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program · 2024

Safest cities · Most dangerous cities · Crime trends

Crime Trends

Year Population Violent Crime Rate Property Crime Rate
2024 39,431,263 187,992 476.8 783,051 1985.9
2023 38,965,193 201,314 516.7 906,925 2327.5
2022 39,029,342 193,803 496.6 920,377 2358.2
2021 39,237,836 36,428 92.8 159,887 407.5
2020 39,368,078 173,908 441.7 853,161 2167.1
2019 39,512,223 173,298 438.6 923,915 2338.3
2018 39,557,045 176,944 447.3 949,839 2401.2
2017 39,536,653 178,573 451.7 995,644 2518.3
2016 39,250,017 174,736 445.2 1,009,344 2571.6
2015 39,144,818 166,691 425.8 1,031,385 2634.8
2014 38,802,500 151,562 390.6 954,170 2459

Cities in California

Safest cities in California

Cities with 25,000+ residents, lowest violent crime per 100,000, FBI UCR 2024. Hover a bar for the exact rate.

/100K

What this shows Danville is the safest sizeable city in California, at 63.1 violent crimes per 100,000.

Source FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program As of 2024

Highest violent-crime cities in California

Cities with 25,000+ residents, highest violent crime per 100,000, FBI UCR 2024. Hover a bar for the exact rate.

/100K

What this shows Oakland reports the highest big-city violent-crime rate in California, at 1,925.3 per 100,000.

Source FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program As of 2024

Los Angeles recorded 27,656 violent-crime reports (#1 of 269) at 728.5 per 100,000 (rate #17). Oakland recorded 8,376 (#2) at 1,925.3 per 100,000 (#1). These are FBI UCR 2024 agency submissions, not a personal risk forecast.

Volume #1 is not rate #1 among California cities

Violent-crime rate per 100,000 for the count leader and the rate leader among cities with 25,000+ residents, FBI UCR 2024. Each tooltip identifies the relevant rate or volume rank; chart row is not a state rank.

/100K

What this shows Los Angeles recorded 27,656 violent-crime reports (#1 of 269) at 728.5 per 100,000 (rate #17). Oakland recorded 8,376 (#2) at 1,925.3 per 100,000 (#1). These are FBI UCR 2024 agency submissions, not a personal risk forecast.

Source FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program As of 2024
California's largest cities, violent vs. property crime. X axis violent crime per 100K, Y axis property crime per 100K, split by the national averages. 14 cities; the anchor is ringed. California's largest cities, violent vs. property crime 76 2,079 Violent crime per 100K → 1,251 7,809 Property crime per 100K → Los Angeles San Diego San Jose San Francisco SAFEST HIGHEST CRIME PROPERTY-HEAVY VIOLENT-HEAVY Safety grade A / B C D / F
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program · split lines are California's statewide averages · the four largest cities are labeled
Read the chart as a list
  • Los Angeles: 729 violent, 1484 property per 100,000 (grade F)
  • San Diego: 412 violent, 1670 property per 100,000 (grade C)
  • San Jose: 607 violent, 2588 property per 100,000 (grade F)
  • San Francisco: 597 violent, 3929 property per 100,000 (grade F)
  • Fresno: 736 violent, 3271 property per 100,000 (grade F)
  • Sacramento: 755 violent, 2547 property per 100,000 (grade F)
  • Long Beach: 676 violent, 3479 property per 100,000 (grade F)
  • Oakland: 1925 violent, 7230 property per 100,000 (grade F)
  • Bakersfield: 555 violent, 2470 property per 100,000 (grade F)
  • Anaheim: 596 violent, 2132 property per 100,000 (grade F)
  • Riverside: 590 violent, 2832 property per 100,000 (grade F)
  • Stockton: 1146 violent, 2640 property per 100,000 (grade F)
  • Irvine: 84 violent, 1390 property per 100,000 (grade A)
  • Santa Ana: 493 violent, 1702 property per 100,000 (grade D)
F

California safety livability score: 18/100

Percentile-benchmarked against all 51 tracked states, 2024 FBI UCR data.

  • Violent crime rate

    476.8/100K · F (12th percentile)

  • Property crime rate

    1985.9/100K · F (25th percentile)

  • Murder rate

    N/A, dropped from score, weight redistributed

City Population Violent / 100K Grade
Los Angeles 3,796,352
728.5
F
San Diego 1,389,024
412.2
C
San Jose 956,840
606.8
F
San Francisco 802,856
596.5
F
Fresno 546,722
735.5
F
Sacramento 526,670
754.9
F
Long Beach 444,232
676.4
F
Oakland 435,042
1,925.3
F
Bakersfield 416,120
554.6
F
Anaheim 338,488
596.2
F
Riverside 320,148
589.7
F
Stockton 319,069
1,145.8
F
Irvine 316,764
84
A
Santa Ana 310,304
493.1
D
Chula Vista 273,843
375.8
C
Fremont 224,820
195.7
B
San Bernardino 224,283
897.1
F
Santa Clarita 221,303
165.4
B
Modesto 218,990
655.7
F
Fontana 217,605
270.2
B
Moreno Valley 213,581
272.5
C
Oxnard 197,361
596.4
F
Huntington Beach 190,081
207.3
B
Ontario 184,763
272.2
C
Glendale 184,180
287.2
C
Elk Grove 179,074
189.9
B
Santa Rosa 175,147
342.6
C
Rancho Cucamonga 174,313
293.7
C
Oceanside 168,725
458.7
C
Garden Grove 167,041
276.6
C
Lancaster 164,012
834.7
F
Roseville 162,841
219.2
B
Corona 161,174
249.4
B
Palmdale 158,983
551
D
Salinas 158,233
524.5
D
Hayward 153,419
477.1
F
Sunnyvale 150,893
244.5
C
Escondido 147,170
433.5
C
Visalia 146,090
435.3
D
Pomona 143,726
715.9
F
Victorville 140,309
1,015.6
F
Orange 137,970
226.1
B
Fullerton 137,942
455.3
D
Torrance 136,899
311.2
C
Pasadena 131,966
480.4
D
Santa Clara 131,901
182
B
Clovis 127,560
244.6
B
Simi Valley 124,707
129.1
A
Thousand Oaks 122,363
102.2
A
Vallejo 121,795
739.8
F
Concord 121,341
484.6
D
Fairfield 121,082
498
D
Antioch 117,675
606.8
F
Berkeley 117,400
638.8
F
Menifee 117,055
182.8
A
Richmond 113,418
923.1
F
Carlsbad 113,023
199.1
B
Murrieta 112,125
183.7
B
Temecula 110,880
151.5
B
Santa Maria 110,056
660.6
F
Ventura 108,543
410.9
C
Jurupa Valley 107,986
184.3
B
Costa Mesa 107,235
737.6
F
West Covina 104,467
239.3
C
Rialto 103,164
641.7
F
Vacaville 102,672
293.2
C
El Monte 102,088
423.2
C
El Cajon 101,983
434.4
C
Inglewood 101,399
674.6
F
Burbank 101,377
390.6
D
Hesperia 100,850
519.6
D
Chico 100,831
699.2
F
San Mateo 99,929
243.2
C
Tracy 99,519
301.4
C
Vista 98,290
316.4
B
Daly City 98,217
296.3
C
Norwalk 96,677
374.4
C
Merced 96,077
784.8
F
San Marcos 93,974
222.4
B
Chino 93,818
299.5
C
Manteca 93,538
347.5
C
Hemet 93,212
424.8
C
Redding 92,468
647.8
F
Carson 89,767
420
D
Mission Viejo 89,699
99.2
A
Compton 89,564
1,271.7
F
South Gate 89,223
525.6
F
Santa Monica 88,948
778
F
Westminster 88,026
436.2
D
Folsom 86,152
183.4
B
Lake Forest 85,811
145.7
A
Citrus Heights 85,809
439.3
D
Santa Barbara 85,758
648.3
F
San Ramon 84,452
86.4
A
San Leandro 84,200
548.7
F
Rancho Cordova 83,622
425.7
D
Whittier 83,186
490.5
D
Hawthorne 81,941
727.4
F
Newport Beach 81,811
251.8
C
Mountain View 81,461
306.9
C
Showing the 100 largest of 458 reporting cities. Browse all 458 cities → Or see the safest and most dangerous rankings.

Counties in California

56 of 58 Census county-equivalents (96.6%) appear in FBI Table 10 for this vintage. Missing counties are absent from the FBI source for this year, not dropped by PlainCrime. See national county coverage and methodology.

Largest counties in California, violent crime per 100K

Top 8 counties by population, violent crime per 100,000 residents. Hover a bar for the exact rate.

/100K
Source FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program As of 2024
Alameda
Alpine
Amador
Butte
Calaveras
Colusa
Contra Costa
Del Norte
El Dorado
Fresno
Glenn
Humboldt
Imperial
Inyo
Kern
Kings
Lake
Lassen
Los Angeles
Madera
Marin
Mariposa
Mendocino
Merced
Modoc
Mono
Monterey
Napa
Nevada
Orange
Placer
Riverside
Sacramento
San Benito
San Bernardino
San Diego
San Joaquin
San Luis Obispo
San Mateo
Santa Barbara
Santa Clara
Santa Cruz
Shasta
Sierra
Siskiyou
Solano
Sonoma
Stanislaus
Sutter
Tehama
Trinity
Tulare
Tuolumne
Ventura
Yolo
Yuba

Nationwide peers for California

Similar violent rate (~476.8/100K)

Similar property rate (~1,985.9/100K)

Nearby States

Arizona
AZ
Arkansas
AR
Colorado
CO
Connecticut
CT
Delaware
DE

Safest cities · Most dangerous · Trends · National rankings · Crime grades · Compare · Methodology

Primary source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, Crime in the United States annual release. State-level trends cross-check against the FBI Crime Data Explorer (CDE) API.

Population figures for rate calculations reference U.S. Census Bureau estimates where FBI-reported populations are unavailable. Verify with Census.gov QuickFacts.

Read our methodology , how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Put this to use

Put the California FBI UCR state file to work: open a city, a county, or a national ranking built from the same vintage.

Look up a city Municipal rates inside California Safest states ranking How this state sits on the national violent-rate ladder Compare cities Side-by-side rates for up to 4 cities

A statewide average hides city and county variation: open a local profile before treating the state figure as a place-level verdict.

Every figure on PlainCrime is rendered directly from FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on FBI Uniform Crime Reporting source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.