La Jolla is a city of 55,400 in San Diego County, about 10 miles northwest of downtown San Diego · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in La Jolla?
Property crime in La Jolla sits near the national middle: an A-, safer than the neighborhoods where 50% of Americans live. Theft makes up 58% 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 824 of 1,000About as much property crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
50% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than La Jolla as a whole, and 50% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. La Jolla scores 824.
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 La Jolla, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in La Jolla, 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 La Jolla
Car thefts happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In La Jolla, 54% of reported car thefts happen on streets and sidewalks, against 27% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in La Jolla
Low property crime is the norm across La Jolla: 90% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 5% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across La Jolla run from A to F.
90%
A or B 90%C 5%D or F 5%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Is property crime going up in La Jolla?
Reported property crime in La Jolla has fallen 14% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 19 to 17 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
La JollaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves La Jolla. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, La Jolla
Property, US
2016
+7%
+15%
2017
-3%
+12%
2018
+1%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-8%
-8%
2021
+6%
-10%
2022
-5%
-6%
2023
-6%
-7%
2024
-14%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in La Jolla
CrimeGrade™ estimates La Jolla has about 18 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 24% less than the US as a whole and 35% less than 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 La Jolla, about 58% 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 La Jolla
The San Diego Police Department polices La Jolla; these figures cover San Diego as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In San Diego as a whole, 44% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (44%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (54%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (39%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (37%)
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 La Jolla and nearby cities
La Jolla has less property crime than 5 of its 10 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from La Jolla. 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, La Jolla is safer than 57% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set La Jolla apart: it has 131 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 17.6 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.131 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 98% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.17.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 94% 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. 61% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C (35 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 85% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.41% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 77% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.3 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 67% 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.99% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 64% 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 La Jolla
Property crime costs La Jolla about $7.2 million a year, or $131 per resident and about $359 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
$1.1 million
$19
Theft
$3.0 million
$54
Vehicle theft
$1.9 million
$35
Arson
$55,000
$1
Vandalism
$1.2 million
$21
Total
$7.2 million
$131
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
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.
