Darnall is a neighborhood of 8,170 residents in San Diego, about 6 miles east of downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Darnall in San Diego safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B, Darnall has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 75% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent crime grades B+ and property crime C+. San Diego as a whole grades B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Darnall run from A- to C+, so check the map below.
B
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 627 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
25% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Darnall as a whole, and 75% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Darnall scores 627.
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 Darnall, San Diego, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Darnall in San Diego, 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 Darnall
Car thefts happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In San Diego as a whole, 54% of reported car thefts happen on streets and sidewalks, against 27% nationally.
Crime rates and types in Darnall
CrimeGrade™ estimates Darnall has about 29 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 22% less than the US as a whole and close to San Diego as a whole.
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 Darnall is assault, about 29% 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.
Where and when crime happens in San Diego
The San Diego Police Department polices Darnall; these figures cover San Diego as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In San Diego as a whole, 44% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 39% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (44%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (54%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (39%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (37%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (46%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (36%)
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 Darnall compares with nearby neighborhoods
Darnall has less crime than 8 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods; only College Area and Oak Park have less.
Two things set Darnall apart: it has 0.9% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 15 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, yet burglary and vandalism run higher here than that would suggest.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.0.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 98% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 Darnall: C- (31 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 95% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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. 59% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (23 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 67% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.15 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 80% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 Darnall
Crime costs Darnall about $1,160 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, about the same as 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 $11 million a year, or $1,325 per resident.
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 Darnall 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. Darnall 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
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 Darnall, San Diego, CA average a SchoolGrade of D: 28% of students test proficient, against 24% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Darnall on SchoolGrade
