Colton is a city of 56,200 in San Bernardino County, about 7 miles northeast of downtown Riverside · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Colton?
Colton grades B- for property crime, with more of it than the neighborhoods where 74% of Americans live. Theft makes up 49% 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 589 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
26% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Colton as a whole, and 74% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Colton scores 589.
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 Colton, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Colton, 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 Colton
Car thefts run high in Rancho West. In this part of northwest Colton, they run at more than double the rate in the rest of Colton.
Burglaries happen at stores and businesses far more often than nationally. In Colton, 56% of reported burglaries happen at stores and businesses, against 28% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Colton
Areas graded C for property crime are home to 53% of residents in Colton; 36% live in areas graded A or B and 11% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Colton run from A to F.
36%53%11%
A or B 36%C 53%D or F 11%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Cooley Ranch & South Pointe, southeastBurglaries run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Colton.B668
2Valley College, eastBurglaries run about 40% higher here than in the rest of Colton.C+507
3Rancho West, northwestThefts run about 60% higher here than in the rest of Colton.C438
Neighborhood areas of Colton, ranked by property crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is property crime going up in Colton?
Reported property crime in Colton has fallen 25% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 28 to 21 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 38%.
Property crime, change since 2019
ColtonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Colton. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Colton
Property, US
2016
+10%
+15%
2017
-4%
+12%
2018
+6%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-5%
-8%
2021
-23%
-10%
2022
-6%
-6%
2023
+21%
-7%
2024
-25%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Colton
CrimeGrade™ estimates Colton has about 28 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 18% 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.
Theft is the most common property crime in Colton, about 49% 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.
Where and when property crime happens in Colton
Colton has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Car thefts happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 41% of them, against 27% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (56%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (41%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (42%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (30%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Colton and nearby cities
Colton has less property crime than 6 of its 9 nearest cities.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Colton apart: it has 51% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and 7.3 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places where many residents live in dense blocks tend to report more car theft, and it runs high here.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.51% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 84% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.7.3 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 79% 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. 70% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (25 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 73% of US city residents
Show all 6
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.99% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 65% 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.4.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 62% 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 Colton: D+ (20 of 100).3 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 59% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Colton on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Colton
Property crime costs Colton about $12 million a year, or $214 per resident and about $704 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
$1.5 million
$27
Theft
$3.9 million
$70
Vehicle theft
$3.6 million
$65
Arson
$180,000
$3
Vandalism
$2.8 million
$50
Total
$12 million
$214
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.
