Chowchilla is a city of 22,800 in Madera County, about 35 miles northwest of downtown Fresno · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Chowchilla?
Property crime in Chowchilla sits near the national middle: an A-, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 58% of Americans live. Theft makes up 31% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A-, and vehicle theft grades A.
A-
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 775 of 1,000About as much property crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
42% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Chowchilla as a whole, and 58% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Chowchilla scores 775.
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 Chowchilla, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Chowchilla, 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
What stands out about property crime in Chowchilla
Burglary stands out among cities graded A for property crime. For the typical resident of a US city graded A for property crime, the figure is 1.2 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents; Chowchilla has 3.5.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Chowchilla
Low property crime is the norm across Chowchilla: 60% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 2% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Chowchilla run from A+ to D.
60%38%
A or B 60%C 38%D or F 2%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Is property crime going up in Chowchilla?
Reported property crime in Chowchilla has held about steady since 2019, within 5%. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 13 to 12 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
ChowchillaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Chowchilla. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Chowchilla
Property, US
2016
+128%
+15%
2017
+92%
+12%
2018
+23%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-34%
-8%
2021
-24%
-10%
2022
-19%
-6%
2023
-13%
-7%
2024
-5%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Chowchilla
CrimeGrade™ estimates Chowchilla has about 26 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 11% more than the US as a whole and close to California.
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.
Vandalism is the most common property crime in Chowchilla, about 45% of the total, followed by theft and burglary.
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.
Where and when property crime happens in Chowchilla
Chowchilla has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Chowchilla, 42% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often at homes: 44% of them, against 33% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (42%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Homes (44%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Theft from cars
Homes (26%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Other places (35%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Chowchilla and nearby cities
Chowchilla has less property crime than 3 of its 5 nearest cities; only El Nido and Le Grand have less.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Chowchilla. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Chowchilla has more property crime than 69% of them.
Shops, night lighting and walkability in Chowchilla
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, one sets Chowchilla apart: it has 5.1 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places like that tend to report less theft, and it runs low here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.5.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 91% of US city residents
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.76% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 74% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 82% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (14 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 62% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.32 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 67% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Chowchilla: F (1 of 100).under 1 trip an hourUS: noneLower than for 60% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.5.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 56% of US city residents
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 Chowchilla
Property crime costs Chowchilla about $4.7 million a year, or $205 per resident and about $863 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
$710,000
$31
Theft
$940,000
$41
Vehicle theft
$890,000
$39
Arson
$210,000
$9
Vandalism
$1.9 million
$84
Total
$4.7 million
$205
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.
