McFarland is a city of 15,400 in Kern County, about 25 miles northwest of downtown Bakersfield · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in McFarland?
Property crime in McFarland sits near the national middle: an A-, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 57% of Americans live. Theft makes up 29% 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 784 of 1,000About as much property crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
43% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than McFarland as a whole, and 57% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. McFarland scores 784.
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 McFarland, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in McFarland, 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 McFarland
Car thefts run high for a city with an A for property crime. McFarland has 3.8 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of a US city graded A for property crime, the figure is 0.91.
Arsons run high, though property crime runs low. Property crime in McFarland runs 16% below the US rate, but arsons run at more than triple that rate: 0.93 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.12 nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in McFarland
Areas graded C for property crime are home to 52% of residents in McFarland; 41% live in areas graded A or B and 7% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across McFarland run from A to D+.
41%52%
A or B 41%C 52%D or F 7%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Is property crime going up in McFarland?
Reported property crime in McFarland has fallen 38% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 13 to 7.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 34%.
Property crime, change since 2019
McFarlandUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves McFarland. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, McFarland
Property, US
2016
+26%
+15%
2017
+9%
+12%
2018
+28%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+4%
-8%
2021
-15%
-10%
2022
-10%
-6%
2023
-6%
-7%
2024
-38%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in McFarland
CrimeGrade™ estimates McFarland has about 20 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 16% less than the US as a whole and 28% 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.
Vandalism is the most common property crime in McFarland, about 30% of the total, followed by theft 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.
The McFarland Police Department's 2024 count of burglary fell far below its usual level, a sign of a reporting break, so CrimeGrade™ used the department's earlier years instead.
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 McFarland
McFarland has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Car thefts happen most often at homes: 37% of them, against 33% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Car theft
Homes (37%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (35%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in McFarland and nearby cities
McFarland has the least property crime of its 5 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from McFarland. 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, McFarland is safer than 63% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set McFarland apart: it has 3.6 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 62% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places with few stores and restaurants 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.3.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 96% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.62% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 88% 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. 65% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (24 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 71% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.1 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 72% 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.4.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 68% 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 McFarland: F (3 of 100).under 1 trip an hourUS: noneLower than for 59% 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 McFarland
Property crime costs McFarland about $2.8 million a year, or $184 per resident and about $805 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
$490,000
$31
Theft
$460,000
$30
Vehicle theft
$910,000
$59
Arson
$340,000
$22
Vandalism
$650,000
$42
Total
$2.8 million
$184
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.
