The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in La Palma, CA
La Palma is a city of 16,700 in Orange County, about 18 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles · Updated November 2026
Is La Palma, CA safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+, La Palma has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 65% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A- against B-. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A- to B; see the map below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 746 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
35% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than La Palma as a whole, and 65% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. La Palma scores 746.
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 Palma, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in La Palma, 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 Palma
One weak spot: robbery. It grades B in La Palma, worse than in the neighborhoods where 79% of Americans live, against A- for violent crime as a whole.
Burglaries happen at stores and businesses far more often than nationally. In La Palma, 52% of reported burglaries happen at stores and businesses, against 28% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of La Palma
Every part of La Palma where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across La Palma run from A- to B; every part of La Palma has more 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 La Palma, the south side has the least crime and the southwest side the most.
Is crime going up in La Palma?
Reported property crime in La Palma has held about steady since 2019, within 8%. Too few violent crimes are reported here each year for a reliable violent crime trend. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 19 to 18 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 17%.
Property crime, change since 2019
La PalmaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves La Palma. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, La Palma
Property, US
2016
+20%
+15%
2017
+18%
+12%
2018
+10%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-3%
-8%
2021
+2%
-10%
2022
+3%
-6%
2023
+11%
-7%
2024
-8%
-15%
Crime rates and types in La Palma
CrimeGrade™ estimates La Palma has about 29 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 21% less than the US as a whole and 26% 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 Palma, about 40% 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 Palma
La Palma has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 42% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (52%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (38%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (42%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (29%)
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 Palma compares with nearby cities
La Palma has less crime than 7 of its 10 nearest cities.
Empty homes, night lighting and walkability in La Palma
Two things set La Palma apart: it has 2.2% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 72% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places with few empty homes 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.2.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower 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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 92% 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. 90% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (18 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 52% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.72% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 91% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.6 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 89% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.7.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 80% 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 La Palma
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs La Palma about $910 a year per household, 24% 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 $13 million a year, or $788 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$490,000
$30
Rape
$340,000
$20
Robbery
$490,000
$29
Assault
$1.1 million
$68
Burglary
$520,000
$31
Theft
$1,000,000
$60
Vehicle theft
$680,000
$40
Arson
$27,000
$2
Vandalism
$560,000
$33
Total
$5.2 million
$313
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 Palma 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. La Palma 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
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 Palma, CA average a SchoolGrade of A: 51% of students test proficient, against 47% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in La Palma on SchoolGrade
