The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Clayton, CA
Clayton is a city of 13,200 in Contra Costa County, about 30 miles east of downtown San Francisco · Updated November 2026
Is Clayton, CA safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Clayton has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A, safer than the neighborhoods where 73% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A+ and property crime A. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Clayton run from A+ to B+, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 916 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
73% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Clayton as a whole, and 27% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Clayton scores 916.
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 Clayton, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Clayton, 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 Clayton
Thefts are uncommon. Clayton has thefts at less than half the US rate: 4.6 a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Clayton
Every part of Clayton where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Clayton run from A+ to B+; 95% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Clayton, the southeast side has the least crime and the northwest side the most.
Crime rates and types in Clayton
CrimeGrade™ estimates Clayton has about 13 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 64% less than the US as a whole and 67% less than 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.
Theft is the most common crime in Clayton, about 35% of everything reported, but assault costs more, because each one does more harm.
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.
Where and when crime happens in Clayton
Clayton has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Vandalism
Homes (42%)
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.
How Clayton compares with nearby cities
Clayton has less crime than 6 of its 9 nearest cities.
Two things set Clayton apart: it has 1.4% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 13 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary and vandalism run low here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.1.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 98% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.13 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 95% 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 and assault. 91% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (9 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 79% of US city residents
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.5.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 90% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.9 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 78% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.4% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 77% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Clayton on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Clayton
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Clayton about $403 a year per household, 67% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $6.1 million a year, or $462 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$230,000
$18
Rape
$160,000
$12
Robbery
$170,000
$13
Assault
$590,000
$45
Burglary
$140,000
$11
Theft
$310,000
$24
Vehicle theft
$180,000
$13
Arson
$22,000
$2
Vandalism
$250,000
$19
Total
$2.0 million
$155
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 Clayton 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. Clayton is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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 Clayton, CA average a SchoolGrade of B+: 45% of students test proficient, against 46% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Clayton on SchoolGrade
