The Los Angeles metro area, the second-largest in the US, is home to 12.97 million residents; Los Angeles itself is the largest city in California · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in the Los Angeles area?
Property crime is high in the Los Angeles area: a C, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 81% of Americans live. Theft makes up 53% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades B, and vehicle theft grades D-. The city of Los Angeles itself grades F for property crime.
C
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 449 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
19% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than the Los Angeles area as a whole, and 81% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. The Los Angeles area scores 449.
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 Los Angeles, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in the Los Angeles area, 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 the Los Angeles area
One part of Los Angeles stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in South Los Angeles, in south Los Angeles, run at about triple the rate in the rest of the city.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in the Los Angeles area
Property crime changes a lot from one part of the Los Angeles area to the next: 32% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 51% live in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across the Los Angeles area run from A+ to F.
32%17%51%
A or B 32%C 17%D or F 51%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
7South Los Angeles, southThefts run about 80% higher here than in the rest of Los Angeles.F0
8Westlake & Mid City, centralCar thefts run at about double the rate in the rest of Los Angeles.F0
9Southeast Los Angeles & Watts, southeastCar thefts run at about double the rate in the rest of Los Angeles.F0
Neighborhood areas of the city of Los Angeles, 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.
Cities and towns in the Los Angeles metro area with at least 1,000 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.
Property crime rates and types in the Los Angeles area
CrimeGrade™ estimates the Los Angeles area has about 30 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 28% 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 the Los Angeles area, about 53% 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 the Los Angeles area and nearby metro areas
Of the 10 metro areas closest to the Los Angeles area, 9 have less property crime. The Oxnard area and the Phoenix area have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from the Los Angeles area. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Density, night lighting and empty homes in the Los Angeles area
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, one sets the Los Angeles area apart: it has 65% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that 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.65% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 99% of Americans in metro areas
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 97% of Americans in metro areas
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary.5.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 72% of Americans in metro areas
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 the Los Angeles area
Property crime costs the Los Angeles area about $3.06 billion a year, or $236 per resident and about $682 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
$411 million
$32
Theft
$1.08 billion
$83
Vehicle theft
$1.03 billion
$79
Arson
$50 million
$4
Vandalism
$496 million
$38
Total
$3.06 billion
$236
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. These figures cover the whole Los Angeles metro area. 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.
