The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Hillsborough, CA
Hillsborough is a town of 13,300 in San Mateo County, about 16 miles south of downtown San Francisco · Updated November 2026
Is Hillsborough, CA safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Hillsborough has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A, safer than the neighborhoods where 64% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A here. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A to A-; see the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 891 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
64% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Hillsborough as a whole, and 36% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Hillsborough scores 891.
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 Hillsborough, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Hillsborough, 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 Hillsborough
One weak spot: burglary. It grades B in Hillsborough, worse than in the neighborhoods where 83% of Americans live, against A for property crime as a whole.
Simple assault runs low. Hillsborough has 2.0 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, a small fraction of the US rate of 9.7.
The safest and least safe parts of Hillsborough
Every part of Hillsborough where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Hillsborough run from A to A-; 99% 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 Hillsborough, the southeast side has the least crime and the north side the most.
Is crime going up in Hillsborough?
Reported property crime in Hillsborough has fallen 23% since 2019. Too few violent crimes are reported here each year for a reliable violent crime trend. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 8.8 to 6.7 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 12%.
Property crime, change since 2019
HillsboroughUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Hillsborough. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Hillsborough
Property, US
2016
+22%
+15%
2017
-27%
+12%
2018
-8%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+3%
-8%
2021
-10%
-10%
2022
-12%
-6%
2023
-13%
-7%
2024
-23%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Hillsborough
CrimeGrade™ estimates Hillsborough has about 16 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 57% less than the US as a whole and 60% 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 Hillsborough, about 34% 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 Hillsborough
Hillsborough has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Hillsborough, 93% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (93%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (78%)
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 Hillsborough compares with nearby cities
Hillsborough has the least crime of its 8 nearest cities.
Walkability, night lighting and density in Hillsborough
Two things set Hillsborough apart: it has a Walk Grade of F (4 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 3% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report less theft and assault, and they run low here.
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. 100% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.F (4 of 100)US: 21Lower 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.62% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 82% 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.3% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 80% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.7 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 78% 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.4.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 73% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.31 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 69% 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 Hillsborough
Crime costs Hillsborough about $507 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 58% 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 $6.2 million a year, or $465 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$220,000
$16
Rape
$230,000
$17
Robbery
$120,000
$9
Assault
$490,000
$37
Burglary
$380,000
$28
Theft
$370,000
$28
Vehicle theft
$220,000
$16
Arson
$17,000
$1
Vandalism
$270,000
$20
Total
$2.3 million
$174
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 Hillsborough 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 Hillsborough, CA average a SchoolGrade of A+: 65% of students test proficient, against 62% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Hillsborough on SchoolGrade
