Highland Park is a neighborhood of 20,900 residents in Los Angeles, about 5 miles northeast of downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Highland Park in Los Angeles safe?
Highland Park has more crime than most of the country: an overall CrimeGrade™ of C, with more crime than the neighborhoods where 85% of Americans live. Violent crime grades B and property crime F. Los Angeles as a whole grades D+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Highland Park run from B+ to F, so check the map below.
C
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 423 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
15% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Highland Park as a whole, and 85% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Highland Park scores 423.
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 Highland Park, Los Angeles, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Highland Park in Los Angeles, 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 Highland Park
Burglary is a strength. Highland Park grades F for property crime, but burglary grades A-.
Robberies run high. Highland Park has robberies at more than double the US rate: 1.5 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
How Highland Park compares within Los Angeles
In Highland Park, 14% of residents live in areas graded A or B, 44% in areas graded C and 42% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Highland Park run from B+ to F; every part of Highland Park has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.
14%44%42%
A or B 14%C 44%D or F 42%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Highland Park has less crime than 27 of the 51 neighborhoods in Los Angeles. It covers much of the Eagle Rock, El Sereno, and Echo Park areas.
Crime rates and types in Highland Park
CrimeGrade™ estimates Highland Park has about 36 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about the same as the US as a whole and 43% less than Los Angeles 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.
Theft makes up about 39% of crime reported in Highland Park. Assault 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 Highland Park compares with nearby neighborhoods
Of the 10 neighborhoods closest to Highland Park, 7 have less crime. South Arroyo and Madison Heights have the least.
Empty homes, jobs and walkability in Highland Park
Two things set Highland Park apart: it has 4.1% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 17 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.4.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 76% of residents of US city neighborhoods
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.17 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 76% 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.B- (53 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 66% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.3 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 76% 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 Highland Park
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Highland Park about $1,221 a year per household, 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 $31 million a year, or $1,484 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 Highland Park 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. Highland Park 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 Highland Park, Los Angeles, CA average a SchoolGrade of A-: 50% of students test proficient, against 34% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Highland Park on SchoolGrade
