The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in La Mesa, CA
La Mesa is a city of 61,600 in San Diego County, about 9 miles northeast of downtown San Diego · Updated November 2026
Is La Mesa, CA safe?
Crime in La Mesa is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 71% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than La Mesa. Violent and property crime both grade B here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within La Mesa run from A to C, so check the map below.
B
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 684 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
29% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than La Mesa as a whole, and 71% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. La Mesa scores 684.
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 La Mesa, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in La Mesa, 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 La Mesa
Robberies happen at stores and businesses far more often than nationally. In La Mesa, 59% of reported robberies happen at stores and businesses, against 33% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of La Mesa
Most of La Mesa grades well: 91% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across La Mesa run from A to C; 2% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
91%
A or B 91%C 9%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within La Mesa, the northeast side has the least crime and the center the most.
Crime rates and types in La Mesa
CrimeGrade™ estimates La Mesa has about 33 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 12% less than the US as a whole and 17% 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 La Mesa, about 36% 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 La Mesa
La Mesa has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In La Mesa, 42% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 46% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (42%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (40%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (46%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (23%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (59%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (45%)
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 La Mesa compares with nearby cities
La Mesa has more crime than 6 of its 10 nearest cities. Rancho San Diego and Bonita have the least crime nearby.
Night lighting, parking lots and walkability in La Mesa
Two things set La Mesa apart: it has 0.7 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 44% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places with little parking-lot space tend to report less theft, yet theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
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 92% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.7 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 85% 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. 71% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (25 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 74% of US city residents
Show all 6
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for La Mesa: C- (26 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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.44% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 80% 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.3.6% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 80% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of La Mesa on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 La Mesa
Crime costs La Mesa about $1,057 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 12% 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 $91 million a year, or $1,483 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$5.9 million
$96
Rape
$630,000
$10
Robbery
$1.7 million
$27
Assault
$9.0 million
$146
Burglary
$1.2 million
$19
Theft
$3.8 million
$61
Vehicle theft
$2.5 million
$41
Arson
$230,000
$4
Vandalism
$1.7 million
$28
Total
$27 million
$432
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 La Mesa 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 La Mesa, CA average a SchoolGrade of B+: 44% of students test proficient, against 40% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in La Mesa on SchoolGrade
