The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Compton, CA
Compton is a city of 98,300 in Los Angeles County, about 11 miles south of downtown Los Angeles · Updated November 2026
Is Compton, CA safe?
Crime in Compton is high, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of F. Most US neighborhoods have far less: 94% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Compton. Violent and property crime both grade F here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Compton run from C+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
F
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000Less safe than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
6% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Compton as a whole, and 94% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Compton scores 0.
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 Compton, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Compton, 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 Compton
Burglaries run high in North West Long Beach. In this part of southeast Compton, they run at about double the rate in the rest of Compton.
Robberies and car thefts both run high. In Compton, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 3.3 robberies and 12.0 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 and 2.7 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Compton
High crime is widespread across Compton: 96% of residents live in areas graded D or F, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Compton run from C+ to F; every part of Compton has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.
96%
C 4%D or F 96%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Rancho Dominguez, southCar thefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Compton.C-333
2North West Long Beach, southeastCar thefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Compton.D+268
3West Rancho Domingues, westCar thefts run about 80% higher here than in the rest of Compton.F0
Neighborhood areas of Compton, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is crime going up in Compton?
Since 2019, reported property crime in Compton is up 25%, while violent crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 12 to 13 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 25 to 31 (US: 18). Neither changed much from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
ComptonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Compton. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Compton
Violent, US
Property, Compton
Property, US
2016
-0%
+4%
+5%
+15%
2017
+4%
+4%
+8%
+12%
2018
+5%
+0%
+8%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+2%
+4%
-4%
-8%
2021
+7%
+6%
-3%
-10%
2022
-2%
+5%
+11%
-6%
2023
+1%
+2%
+38%
-7%
2024
+8%
-4%
+25%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Compton
CrimeGrade™ estimates Compton has about 60 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 60% more than the US as a whole and 50% more 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 makes up about 26% of crime reported in Compton. Murder is less common but costs more, because each one does far 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.
The Compton Police Department reports to the FBI in a format that leaves out vandalism, so CrimeGrade™ makes its own vandalism estimate.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
How Compton compares with nearby cities
Compton has less crime than 5 of its 10 nearest cities.
Density, night lighting and walkability in Compton
Two things set Compton apart: it has 86% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and a Walk Grade of C (35 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report more robbery and car theft, and they run high here.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.86% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 94% of US city residents
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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 92% 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.C (35 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 85% 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.7.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 78% of US city residents
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 Compton: C- (30 of 100).6 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 76% 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.4.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 71% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Compton 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 Compton
Crime costs Compton about $4,324 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, more than triple 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 $450 million a year, or $4,573 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$35 million
$357
Rape
$2.2 million
$23
Robbery
$10 million
$102
Assault
$28 million
$281
Burglary
$3.6 million
$37
Theft
$7.8 million
$79
Vehicle theft
$18 million
$184
Arson
$1.6 million
$17
Vandalism
$6.2 million
$63
Total
$112 million
$1,144
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 Compton 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 Compton, CA average a SchoolGrade of C: 33% of students test proficient, against 20% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Compton on SchoolGrade
