The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Alameda County, CA: Crime Maps and Statistics

Crime per Capita in Alameda County

This overview combines violent, property, and other offenses into a single grade for Alameda County. The dedicated violent crime and property crime pages go deeper on each. The map below shows the overall crime rate per 1,000 residents.

 

Alameda County, CA Map of Crime Rates
Click the map to explore
A+ B C D F
Safest Highest crime
Colorblind friendly off

C

Overall Crime Grade™

D+
D+
Other Crime Grade
A

$1.0 billion

Cost of Crime™ for Alameda County, CA

In 2025, crime will cost $1,672 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Alameda County with the least crime overall and red marks the most. Each area is weighted by the type and severity of every offense, so a place with rare but serious violent crime can grade differently from one with frequent petty theft. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read the colors.

Is Alameda County, CA Safe?

The C overall grade blends the violent, property, and other grades shown above into one measure, set against the average US county, where Alameda County's combined rate is slightly higher than the norm. Alameda County sits in the 41st percentile, ahead of 41% of counties and behind 59%. The grade covers only Alameda County's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby counties.

The overall crime rate in Alameda County is 33.38 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the east part of the county the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 21 in the northwest areas to 1 in 42 in the east.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the northwest parts of Alameda County, CA report the most crime, about 22,400 cases per year. The southwest part reports the fewest, around 0 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Alameda County, CA

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in Alameda County for 2025 is $1,014,009,654, about $591 per resident and $1,672 per household. That equals 0.9% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:
  1. Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 50.2%
  2. Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 38.5%
  3. Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 11.2%

How Much Does Crime Cost in Alameda County Compared to Other Counties?

Alameda County, CA: $591
San Francisco County, CA: $1016
Placer County, CA: $320
California: $491
USA: $464

The overall cost of crime per resident in Alameda County is $591 per year, which is $127 more than the national average and $100 more than California's state average. The comparison below uses counties similar to Alameda County:
  • In San Francisco County, CA, crime costs $1,016 per person, which is $426 more than in Alameda County.
  • In Placer County, CA, crime costs $320 per person, which is $271 less than in Alameda County

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

The table below shows the total cost of crime to the residents of Alameda County for the year 2025 along with the projected cost per resident.
Crime
Cost to Alameda County
Cost per Alameda County Resident
Murder
$317.8 million
$185
Rape/Sexual Assault
$54.5 million
$32
Robbery
$85.7 million
$50
Assault
$144.4 million
$84
Kidnapping
$12.5 million
$7
Vehicle Theft
$145.9 million
$85
Burglary
$56.5 million
$33
Theft
$118.5 million
$69
Arson
$10.4 million
$6
Vandalism
$35.2 million
$20
Animal Cruelty
$174,458
$0
Drug Crimes
$26.5 million
$15
Identity Theft
$5.87 million
$3
Total Cost of Crime
$1,014,009,654
$591

The Intangible Cost of Crime in Alameda County, CA

The totals above count tangible costs only. Violent crime also carries a human cost, the pain and trauma borne by victims and their families, which research-based methods estimate so it can be compared across places. That intangible cost in Alameda County totals $2,450,898,538 ($1,428 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $3,464,908,192 ($2,019 per resident). All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Crime Maps

Crime rates on the map are measured per resident, so areas with heavy visitor traffic can read high because crime follows crowds, even where few people live. The northwest part of the county holds more retail establishments, which lifts recorded crime around those blocks. A red area does not always mean the neighborhood is unsafe for residents.

Airports, parks, and transit hubs create the same effect. Major airports, of which Alameda County has 1, draw large crowds with few residents nearby, so they read as high-crime spots. Parks and recreational areas, of which Alameda County has 243, do the same, and of Alameda County's 1,716,162 residents few live beside them. Before assuming an area is unsafe, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total number of incidents, and note what sits nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Alameda County, CA at ISP Reports.

Alameda County Crime Breakdown

The tables below show which crimes are used to calculate the Crime Grades above. All crime rates are shown as the number of crimes per 1,000 Alameda County residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type
Crime Rate
Assault
2.930
Robbery
1.587
Rape
0.5235
Murder
0.0985
Total Violent Crime
5.140 (D+)
 
 

 


Property Crime Rates

Crime Type
Crime Rate
Theft
13.34
Vehicle Theft
5.489
Burglary
3.633
Arson
0.2513
Total Property Crime
22.71 (D+)
 
 

 


Other Crime Rates

Crime Type
Crime Rate
Kidnapping
0.1203
Drug Crimes
2.090
Vandalism
2.868
Identity Theft
0.4419
Animal Cruelty
0.0137
Total "Other" Rate
5.535 (A)

 


Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Counties

Compared to surrounding counties, the rate of crime in Alameda County is similar. The table below shows Crime Grades for counties close to Alameda County.

Nearby County
Overall Crime Grade
Violent Crime Grade
Property Crime Grade
B-
C+
C-
C+
C
D+
F
F
F
B+
C+
C+
C
D+
D
C+
C-
D+
D+
F
D-
C
D
D+
B-
C-
C
C+
D+
D+

Crime Maps and Rates for County with Similar Populations

Alameda County is higher versus other counties of the same size for crime. The table below compares crime in counties with comparable overall population in the county‘s boundaries.

Similar County
Overall Crime Grade
Violent Crime Grade
Property Crime Grade
A
B
B
D+
C-
C-
A-
B
B
C
D+
D+
D
D
D
D
C
C
B
D+
D+
A
B
B
C
C-
C-
A
A-
A-

Considering only the crime rate, Alameda County is as safe as the California state average and as safe as the national average.

Safety and school performance are separate topics, but both shape moving decisions. Using SchoolGrade data, schools in Alameda County, CA average SchoolGrade of B+, with 51% actual proficiency versus 44% projected; overall, schools greatly exceed expectations. See Alameda County schools on SchoolGrade

About the Data

CrimeGrade.org provides highly detailed and accurate crime data, used by insurance companies, home security firms, and other industries. Our data is available for licensing—learn more about our USA crime data and licensing.

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Home Security

A crime occurs on average every 9 minutes in Alameda County. Want to protect your home?

Home Security Companies in Alameda County, CA

All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.