This overview combines violent, property, and other offenses into a single grade for Kern County. The dedicated violent crime and property crime pages go deeper on each. The map below shows the overall crime rate per 1,000 residents.
C
Overall Crime Grade™
D+ |
|
D+ |
|
Other Crime Grade |
A+ |
$470.3 million
Cost of Crime™ for Kern County, CA
In 2025, crime will cost $1,606 per household.
On the map, green marks the parts of Kern County 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.
The C overall grade blends the violent, property, and other grades shown above into one measure, set against the average US county, where Kern County's combined rate is slightly higher than the norm. Kern County sits in the 44th percentile, ahead of 44% of counties and behind 56%. The grade covers only Kern County's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby counties.
The overall crime rate in Kern County is 32.56 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the west part of the county the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 24 in the southwest areas to 1 in 40 in the west.
Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the central parts of Kern County, CA report the most crime, about 12,532 cases per year. The east part reports the fewest, around 26 per year.
| Kern County, CA: | $489 |
|---|---|
| San Francisco County, CA: | $1016 |
| Placer County, CA: | $320 |
| California: | $491 |
| USA: | $464 |
Crime |
Cost to Kern County |
Cost per Kern County Resident |
|---|---|---|
Murder |
$115.9 million |
$121 |
Rape/Sexual Assault |
$25.7 million |
$27 |
Robbery |
$32.3 million |
$34 |
Assault |
$92.3 million |
$96 |
Kidnapping |
$10.5 million |
$11 |
Vehicle Theft |
$44.7 million |
$46 |
Burglary |
$34.9 million |
$36 |
Theft |
$78.7 million |
$82 |
Arson |
$3.96 million |
$4 |
Vandalism |
$18.3 million |
$19 |
Animal Cruelty |
$119,663 |
$0 |
Drug Crimes |
$10.1 million |
$11 |
Identity Theft |
$2.66 million |
$3 |
Total Cost of Crime |
$470,267,657 |
$489 |
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 central part of the county 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, of which Kern County has 74, do the same, and of Kern County's 960,987 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 Kern County, CA at ISP Reports.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 Kern County residents in a standard year.
Crime Type |
Crime Rate |
|---|---|
Assault |
3.346 |
Robbery |
1.069 |
Rape |
0.4417 |
Murder |
0.0642 |
Total Violent Crime |
4.921 (D+) |
Crime Type |
Crime Rate |
|---|---|
Theft |
15.82 |
Vehicle Theft |
3.001 |
Burglary |
4.000 |
Arson |
0.1706 |
Total Property Crime |
22.99 (D+) |
Crime Type |
Crime Rate |
|---|---|
Kidnapping |
0.1807 |
Drug Crimes |
1.426 |
Vandalism |
2.670 |
Identity Theft |
0.3577 |
Animal Cruelty |
0.0168 |
Total "Other" Rate |
4.652 (A+) |
Compared to surrounding counties, the rate of crime in Kern County is lower. The table below shows Crime Grades for counties close to Kern County.
Nearby County | Overall Crime Grade | Violent Crime Grade | Property Crime Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
B+ | D+ | C+ | |
B+ | C+ | B+ | |
D+ | D- | D | |
C- | D- | D+ | |
F | F | F | |
F | F | F | |
F | F | F | |
C | D+ | C | |
F | F | D- | |
D | C- | D |
Kern County is similar versus other counties of the same size for crime. The table below compares crime in counties with comparable overall population in the county‘s boundaries.
Similar County | Overall Crime Grade | Violent Crime Grade | Property Crime Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
D | F | F | |
F | F | F | |
D- | C- | C- | |
C | C- | C- | |
A+ | A+ | A+ | |
A+ | A+ | A+ | |
C | B- | B- | |
A+ | A | A | |
C | C | C | |
D | B | B |
Considering only the crime rate, Kern County is as safe as the California state average and as safe as the national average.
Safety and school performance are separate topics, but both shape moving decisions. Using SchoolGrade data, schools in Kern County, CA average SchoolGrade of D+, with 30% actual proficiency versus 30% projected; overall, schools meet expectations. See Kern County schools on SchoolGrade
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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A crime occurs on average every 16 minutes in Kern County. 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.