The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Imperial Beach, CA: Crime Maps and Statistics

Crime per Capita in Imperial Beach

This overview combines violent, property, and other offenses into a single grade for Imperial Beach. The dedicated violent crime and property crime pages go deeper on each. The map below shows the overall crime rate per 1,000 residents.

 

Imperial Beach, CA Map of Crime Rates
Click the map to explore
A+ B C D F
Safest Highest crime
Colorblind friendly off

D+

Overall Crime Grade™

D+
D-
Other Crime Grade
B+

$12.5 million

Cost of Crime™ for Imperial Beach, CA

In 2025, crime will cost $1,378 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Imperial Beach with the least crime overall and red marks the most. Each area is weighted by the type and severity of every offense, so a place with rare but serious violent crime can grade differently from one with frequent petty theft. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read the colors.

Is Imperial Beach, CA Safe?

The D+ overall grade blends the violent, property, and other grades shown above into one measure, set against the average US city, where Imperial Beach's combined rate is higher than the norm. Imperial Beach sits in the 26th percentile, ahead of 26% of cities and behind 74%. The grade covers only Imperial Beach's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities.

The overall crime rate in Imperial Beach is 34.25 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the east part of the city the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 23 in the northwest neighborhoods to 1 in 39 in the east.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the southeast parts of Imperial Beach, CA report the most crime, about 180 cases per year. The south part reports the fewest, around 56 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Imperial Beach, CA

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in Imperial Beach for 2025 is $12,535,582, about $510 per resident and $1,378 per household. That equals 1.3% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:
  1. Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 52.4%
  2. Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 36.9%
  3. Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 10.6%

How Much Does Crime Cost in Imperial Beach Compared to Other Cities?

Imperial Beach, CA: $510
Lodi, CA: $1387
Rescue, CA: $213
California: $491
USA: $464

The overall cost of crime per resident in Imperial Beach is $510 per year, which is $45 more than the national average and $19 more than California's state average. The comparison below uses cities similar to Imperial Beach:
  • In Lodi, CA, crime costs $1,387 per person, which is $878 more than in Imperial Beach.
  • In Rescue, CA, crime costs $213 per person, which is $297 less than in Imperial Beach

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

The table below shows the total cost of crime to the residents of Imperial Beach for the year 2025 along with the projected cost per resident.
Crime
Cost to Imperial Beach
Cost per Imperial Beach Resident
Murder
$2.83 million
$115
Rape/Sexual Assault
$705,404
$29
Robbery
$843,917
$34
Assault
$1.90 million
$77
Kidnapping
$161,013
$7
Vehicle Theft
$2.34 million
$95
Burglary
$917,020
$37
Theft
$1.86 million
$76
Arson
$126,184
$5
Vandalism
$473,356
$19
Animal Cruelty
$3,842
$0
Drug Crimes
$299,244
$12
Identity Theft
$81,847
$3
Total Cost of Crime
$12,535,582
$510

The Intangible Cost of Crime in Imperial Beach, CA

The totals above count tangible costs only. Violent crime also carries a human cost, the pain and trauma borne by victims and their families, which research-based methods estimate so it can be compared across places. That intangible cost in Imperial Beach totals $23,109,368 ($940 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $35,644,950 ($1,449 per resident). All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Crime Maps

Crime rates on the map are measured per resident, so areas with heavy visitor traffic can read high because crime follows crowds, even where few people live. The northeast part of the city holds more retail establishments, which lifts recorded crime around those blocks. A red area does not always mean the neighborhood is unsafe for residents.

Airports, parks, and transit hubs create the same effect. Major airports draw large crowds with few residents nearby, so they read as high-crime spots. Parks and recreational areas do the same, and of Imperial Beach's 24,597 residents few live beside them. Before assuming an area is unsafe, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total number of incidents, and note what sits nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Imperial Beach, CA at ISP Reports.

Imperial Beach Crime Breakdown

The tables below show which crimes are used to calculate the Crime Grades above. All crime rates are shown as the number of crimes per 1,000 Imperial Beach residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type
Crime Rate
Assault
2.683
Robbery
1.091
Rape
0.4730
Murder
0.0613
Total Violent Crime
4.308 (D+)
 
 

 


Property Crime Rates

Crime Type
Crime Rate
Theft
14.58
Vehicle Theft
6.138
Burglary
4.110
Arson
0.2124
Total Property Crime
25.05 (D-)
 
 

 


Other Crime Rates

Crime Type
Crime Rate
Kidnapping
0.1080
Drug Crimes
1.645
Vandalism
2.694
Identity Theft
0.4299
Animal Cruelty
0.0211
Total "Other" Rate
4.897 (B+)

 


Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Cities

Compared to surrounding cities, the rate of crime in Imperial Beach is lower. The table below shows Crime Grades for cities close to Imperial Beach.

Nearby City
Overall Crime Grade
Violent Crime Grade
Property Crime Grade
D-
D-
F
C
C
D+
D-
D-
F
D+
D+
D-
F
F
F
D+
D-
D
D-
F
F
D-
F
F
D-
D-
F
C
D-
C-

Crime Maps and Rates for City with Similar Populations

Imperial Beach is higher versus other cities of the same size for crime. The table below compares crime in cities with comparable overall population in the city‘s boundaries.

Similar City
Overall Crime Grade
Violent Crime Grade
Property Crime Grade
D-
D-
D-
C+
C+
C+
C
A
A
C
B
B
B-
B
B
C
D+
D+
A
B-
B-
C-
C-
C-
C-
C-
C-
D-
F
F

Considering only the crime rate, Imperial Beach is as safe as the California state average and less safe than the national average.

Safety and school performance are separate topics, but both shape moving decisions. Using SchoolGrade data, schools in Imperial Beach, CA average SchoolGrade of F, with 18% actual proficiency versus 22% projected; overall, schools don't meet expectations. See Imperial Beach schools on SchoolGrade

About the Data

CrimeGrade.org provides highly detailed and accurate crime data, used by insurance companies, home security firms, and other industries. Our data is available for licensing—learn more about our USA crime data and licensing.

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Home Security

A crime occurs on average every 10 hours 23 minutes in Imperial Beach. Want to protect your home?

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All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.