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 2026-08-24
- 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
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.
- Danville
Danville
63 /100K
- Foster City
Foster City
69 /100K
- Los Altos
Los Altos
78 /100K
- Diamond Bar
Diamond Bar
78 /100K
- Rancho Santa Margarita
Rancho Santa Margarita
81 /100K
- Irvine
Irvine
84 /100K
- San Ramon
San Ramon
86 /100K
- Saratoga
Saratoga
89 /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 /100K
- Compton
Compton
1,272 /100K
- Stockton
Stockton
1,146 /100K
- Eureka
Eureka
1,016 /100K
- Victorville
Victorville
1,016 /100K
- Richmond
Richmond
923 /100K
- Lynwood
Lynwood
910 /100K
- San Bernardino
San Bernardino
897 /100K
What this shows Oakland reports the highest big-city violent-crime rate in California, at 1,925.3 per 100,000.
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.
- Oakland
Oakland
1,925 /100K
- Los Angeles 729
Los Angeles
729 /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.
| 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
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.
- Los Angeles 59
Los Angeles
59 /100K
- San Diego 38
San Diego
38 /100K
- Orange 13
Orange
13 /100K
- Riverside 41
Riverside
41 /100K
- San Bernardino 69
San Bernardino
69 /100K
- Santa Clara 14
Santa Clara
14 /100K
- Alameda 46
Alameda
46 /100K
- Sacramento
Sacramento
178 /100K
Nationwide peers for California
Similar violent rate (~476.8/100K)
- Colorado · 481.2/100K violent
- Missouri · 463.3/100K violent
- Kansas · 456.2/100K violent
- South Carolina · 439.3/100K violent
Similar property rate (~1,985.9/100K)
- Oklahoma · 2008.3/100K property
- Arkansas · 1939.5/100K property
- North Carolina · 1929.5/100K property
- Hawaii · 2052.6/100K property
Nearby States
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.
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.