California is home to 39.29 million residents; Sacramento is its capital and Los Angeles its largest city · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in California?
California ranks 50th safest of the 50 states and Washington, DC for property crime, with a CrimeGrade™ of B. Theft makes up 51% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades B+, and vehicle theft grades B-.
B
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 645 of 1,00050th safest of the 50 states and DCi What this means
29% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than California as a whole, and 71% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. California scores 645.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more property crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its property crime with the homes, parked cars and people there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in California at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in California, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
Where property crime is lowest and highest in California
Property crime varies widely across California: 51% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 32% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across California run from A+ to F.
51%17%32%
A or B 51%C 17%D or F 32%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
All 58 counties, ranked by property crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Cities of 10,000 or more residents, ranked by property crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Is property crime going up in California?
Reported property crime in California has fallen 10% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 23 to 21 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 10%.
Property crime, change since 2019
CaliforniaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across California. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, California
Property, US
2016
+10%
+15%
2017
+7%
+12%
2018
+2%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-9%
-8%
2021
-4%
-10%
2022
+1%
-6%
2023
+0%
-7%
2024
-10%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in California
CrimeGrade™ estimates California has about 28 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 16% more than the US as a whole.
All property crime
Burglary
Vehicle theft
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Property crime here includes vandalism, which the FBI's property crime rate leaves out.
Theft is the most common property crime in California, about 51% of the total, followed by vandalism and vehicle theft.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a property crime with what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for vehicle theft, people and parking for theft, homes and businesses for vandalism. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Property crime in California and nearby states
California has the most property crime of its 10 nearest states.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from California. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Night lighting, density and empty homes in California
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, one sets California apart: it has 49% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report more car theft, and it runs high here.
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.92% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 99% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.49% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 93% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.5.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 82% of Americans
Show all 4
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for California: D+ (21 of 100).6 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 67% of Americans
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of California on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more. Its Walk Grade for California is C- (28 of 100).
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What property crime costs California
Property crime costs California about $8.51 billion a year, or $217 per resident and about $631 per household: the value of what is stolen or damaged, plus the police, courts and prisons that respond.
Cost of property crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering add little to the cost of property crime, so this is close to its full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Burglary
$1.11 billion
$28
Theft
$2.84 billion
$72
Vehicle theft
$2.77 billion
$71
Arson
$210 million
$5
Vandalism
$1.58 billion
$40
Total
$8.51 billion
$217
How CrimeGrade™ works
The property crime CrimeGrade™ covers burglary, theft, car theft, arson and vandalism, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each property crime against what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for car theft, and the people and parking around stores for theft.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
