The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Fair Oaks, CA
Fair Oaks is an unincorporated community of 43,900 in Sacramento County, about 13 miles east of downtown Sacramento · Updated November 2026
Is Fair Oaks, CA safe?
Mostly, yes. Crime in Fair Oaks is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-, but most US neighborhoods are safer still: Fair Oaks has more crime than the neighborhoods where 60% of Americans live. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A- against B. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Fair Oaks run from A to B-, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 779 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
40% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Fair Oaks as a whole, and 60% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Fair Oaks scores 779.
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 Fair Oaks, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Fair Oaks, 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 Fair Oaks
Theft is a strength. Fair Oaks grades B for property crime, but theft grades A-, better than in the neighborhoods where 53% of Americans live.
Car thefts run high. Fair Oaks has car thefts at about double the US rate: 5.7 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Fair Oaks
Every part of Fair Oaks where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Fair Oaks run from A to B-; 15% 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 Fair Oaks, the southeast side has the least crime and the northwest side the most.
Crime rates and types in Fair Oaks
CrimeGrade™ estimates Fair Oaks has about 25 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 31% less than the US as a whole and 36% 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 makes up about 27% of crime reported in Fair Oaks. Vehicle theft is less common but 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.
How Fair Oaks compares with nearby cities
Fair Oaks has less crime than 7 of its 10 nearest cities.
Two things set Fair Oaks apart: it has 2.9% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 19 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 runs 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.2.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 89% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.19 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 88% 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. 86% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (16 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 57% 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.7.2 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 79% 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 73% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.4 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 65% of US city residents
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 Fair Oaks
Crime costs Fair Oaks about $798 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 34% 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 $34 million a year, or $769 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.2 million
$27
Rape
$490,000
$11
Robbery
$830,000
$19
Assault
$3.3 million
$76
Burglary
$1.3 million
$30
Theft
$1.6 million
$35
Vehicle theft
$3.9 million
$88
Arson
$69,000
$2
Vandalism
$970,000
$22
Total
$14 million
$311
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 Fair Oaks 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. Fair Oaks 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 Fair Oaks, CA average a SchoolGrade of C+: 35% of students test proficient, against 38% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Fair Oaks on SchoolGrade
