State crime profile · 2024
California Crime Rates: Safest & Most Dangerous Cities
Crime data for 458 cities and 56 counties in California (CA), ranked safest to most dangerous from 865 reporting agencies.
- 476.8
- Violent / 100K
- 1,985.9
- Property / 100K
- 458
- Cities
- 56
- Counties
The verdict
California's 476.8 violent crimes per 100,000 runs 35% above the U.S. average, making it among the highest-crime states in the country.
- 476.8
- violent crimes per 100K
- +35%
- vs. the U.S. average
- 45th
- safest of 51 states & DC
- 1,985.9
- property crimes per 100K
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.
State figures roll up the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) submissions from local and county agencies across the state, then express them per 100,000 residents so one state can be compared with another. Statewide averages hide a great deal of variation: a handful of large cities often account for much of a state's reported violent crime, while most of its land area and population live with markedly lower rates. Reporting completeness also differs between states, so a year-over-year change can reflect which agencies filed data as much as any real shift on the ground. Read a state number as the broad backdrop, then drill into the city and county pages for the local detail that actually shapes day-to-day decisions.
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
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
Top 50 by lowest violent crime rate
Most Dangerous Cities
Top 50 by highest violent crime rate
Crime Trends
Multi-year charts & analysis
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.
- Danville
Danville
63.1 /100K
- Foster City
Foster City
69.4 /100K
- Los Altos
Los Altos
77.8 /100K
- Diamond Bar
Diamond Bar
78.2 /100K
- Rancho Santa Margarita
Rancho Santa Margarita
81.1 /100K
- Irvine
Irvine
84 /100K
- San Ramon
San Ramon
86.4 /100K
- Saratoga
Saratoga
89.1 /100K
What this shows Danville is the safest sizeable city in California, at 63.1 violent crimes per 100,000.
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.
- Oakland
Oakland
1,925.3 /100K
- Compton
Compton
1,271.7 /100K
- Stockton
Stockton
1,145.8 /100K
- Eureka
Eureka
1,016.3 /100K
- Victorville
Victorville
1,015.6 /100K
- Richmond
Richmond
923.1 /100K
- Lynwood
Lynwood
910 /100K
- San Bernardino
San Bernardino
897.1 /100K
What this shows Oakland reports the highest big-city violent-crime rate in California, at 1,925.3 per 100,000.
| 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 |
Counties in California
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.
- Los Angeles 59
Los Angeles
59 /100K
- San Diego 38.3
San Diego
38.3 /100K
- Orange 13.3
Orange
13.3 /100K
- Riverside 41.3
Riverside
41.3 /100K
- San Bernardino 69
San Bernardino
69 /100K
- Santa Clara 14.2
Santa Clara
14.2 /100K
- Alameda 46.1
Alameda
46.1 /100K
- Sacramento
Sacramento
178.2 /100K
Nearby States
Compare California with neighboring states, or use the compare tool for side-by-side jurisdiction benchmarking.
Explore California crime data
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.
Using PlainCrime rankings responsibly
Crime rankings are most useful when they sit alongside other community-quality signals, school performance, housing affordability, employment, and access to healthcare. A safer-than-average violent-crime rate in a small commuter suburb does not by itself make a city a better place to live; it is one data point among many. Likewise, a higher-than-average rate in a dense urban center may reflect that residents and visitors interact with police more often, not that the city is necessarily unsafe for its residents. We provide cross-links from each city profile to neighboring jurisdictions, state averages, and national benchmarks so you can read each number in context rather than in isolation.
For news outlets, researchers, and concerned residents who cite our rankings, the most defensible approach is to quote the per-100,000 rate, the reporting year, and the source agency in the same sentence. Avoid framing crime statistics as predictive, UCR data describes what was reported in a past year, not what will happen tomorrow. Where possible, pair our rankings with longitudinal trend data on the relevant city's profile page to show whether the rate is moving up, holding steady, or falling year over year.
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.