Union City is a city of 70,100 in Alameda County, about 25 miles southeast of downtown San Francisco · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Union City?
Property crime is high in Union City: a C, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 82% of Americans live. Theft makes up 59% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades B, and vehicle theft grades D.
C
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 437 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
18% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Union City as a whole, and 82% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Union City scores 437.
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 Union City, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Union City, 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 Union City
Vehicle theft at more than double the US rate. Union City has 6.5 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
Burglaries happen at stores and businesses far more often than nationally. In Union City, 50% of reported burglaries happen at stores and businesses, against 28% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Union City
In Union City, 17% of residents live in areas graded A or B for property crime, 44% in areas graded C and 39% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Union City run from B+ to F.
17%44%39%
A or B 17%C 44%D or F 39%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Property crime rates and types in Union City
CrimeGrade™ estimates Union City has about 34 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 43% more than the US as a whole and 22% more 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 Union City, about 59% of the total, followed by vehicle theft and vandalism.
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 Union City Police Department's 2024 report to the FBI was missing some months of theft and vandalism; CrimeGrade™ filled them in from the department's own monthly pattern.
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 Union City
Union City has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Car thefts happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 36% of them, against 27% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (50%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (36%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (35%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (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 Union City and nearby cities
Union City has less property crime than 7 of its 10 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Union City. 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, Union City has more property crime than 68% of them.
Density, empty homes and walkability in Union City
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Union City apart: it has 67% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and 2.9% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% 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.67% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 89% 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.2.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower 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. 72% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (25 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 73% of US city residents
Show all 6
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Union City: C- (28 of 100).9 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 83% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.7.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower 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 66% 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 Union City
Property crime costs Union City about $19 million a year, or $265 per resident and about $829 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
$1.8 million
$25
Theft
$7.2 million
$102
Vehicle theft
$7.0 million
$100
Arson
$430,000
$6
Vandalism
$2.2 million
$32
Total
$19 million
$265
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.
