The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Butte County, CA
Butte County is home to 207,900 residents and includes Chico and Oroville · Updated November 2026
Is Butte County, CA safe?
Yes, crime in Butte County is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Butte County sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 43% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A- here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Butte County run from A+ to D-, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 801 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
43% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Butte County as a whole, and 57% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Butte County scores 801.
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 crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime 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 Butte County, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Butte County, 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 in Butte County
Robbery stands out among A-graded counties. For the typical resident of an A-graded US county, the figure is 0.19 robberies a year per 1,000 residents; Butte County has 0.74.
Reported rape is the exception. Butte County grades A- for violent crime, but reported rape grades C+, worse than in the neighborhoods where 88% of Americans live.
The safest and most dangerous places in Butte County
Most of Butte County grades well: 83% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 3% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Butte County run from A+ to D-; 27% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
83%14%
A or B 83%C 14%D or F 3%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Butte County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the east side has the least crime and the Durham area the most.
Is crime going up in Butte County?
Reported violent crime in Butte County has risen 38% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 4.7 to 6.5 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). Violent crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Butte CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Butte County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Butte County
Violent, US
2016
-25%
+4%
2017
-14%
+4%
2018
+13%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+8%
+4%
2021
+34%
+6%
2022
+33%
+5%
2023
+39%
+2%
2024
+38%
-4%
Crime rates and types in Butte County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Butte County has about 42 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 13% more than the US as a whole and close to California.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
The largest share of crime reported in Butte County is assault, about 38% of the total. It also makes up the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. 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.
How Butte County compares with nearby counties
Of the 10 counties closest to Butte County, 9 have less crime. Sierra County and Glenn County have the least.
Transit, empty homes and walkability in Butte County
Butte County looks like a typical county on the traits that tend to go with crime.
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Butte County: D (12 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.8.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 75% of Americans
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. 77% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (18 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 58% of Americans
Show all 6
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.64% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 75% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.36 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 71% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.10.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 53% of Americans
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 crime costs Butte County
Crime costs Butte County about $1,414 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 17% more than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $118 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $407 million a year, or $1,957 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$17 million
$80
Rape
$14 million
$65
Robbery
$4.8 million
$23
Assault
$44 million
$211
Burglary
$4.3 million
$21
Theft
$13 million
$63
Vehicle theft
$11 million
$52
Arson
$2.0 million
$10
Vandalism
$8.6 million
$42
Total
$118 million
$566
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Butte County means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
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.
Schools in Butte County, CA average a SchoolGrade of C: 33% of students test proficient, against 33% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Butte County on SchoolGrade
