The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Laguna Woods, CA
Laguna Woods is a city of 17,900 in Orange County, about 45 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles · Updated November 2026
Is Laguna Woods, CA safe?
Yes, crime in Laguna Woods is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Laguna Woods sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 53% of Americans live. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A against A-. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A to B+; see the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 851 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
53% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Laguna Woods as a whole, and 47% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Laguna Woods scores 851.
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 Laguna Woods, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Laguna Woods, 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 Laguna Woods
Burglary is a strength. Laguna Woods grades A- for property crime, but burglary grades A+, better than in the neighborhoods where 77% of Americans live.
Simple assaults and acts of vandalism both run low. In Laguna Woods, each runs at a small fraction of the US rate: 1.6 simple assaults and 1.1 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 9.7 and 5.5 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Laguna Woods
Every part of Laguna Woods where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Laguna Woods run from A to B+; 38% 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 Laguna Woods, the northwest side has the least crime and the northeast side the most.
Is crime going up in Laguna Woods?
Reported property crime in Laguna Woods has risen 13% 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 7.8 to 8.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime rose 59%.
Property crime, change since 2019
Laguna WoodsUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Laguna Woods. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Laguna Woods
Property, US
2016
+33%
+15%
2017
+1%
+12%
2018
-14%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+11%
-8%
2021
-45%
-10%
2022
-33%
-6%
2023
-29%
-7%
2024
+13%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Laguna Woods
CrimeGrade™ estimates Laguna Woods has about 13 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 64% less than the US as a whole and 66% 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 Laguna Woods, about 43% of everything reported, but vehicle theft 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 Laguna Woods
Laguna Woods has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Car thefts happen most often in parking lots and garages: 78% of them, against 23% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (78%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Laguna Woods compares with nearby cities
Laguna Woods has the most crime of its 9 nearest cities.
Two things set Laguna Woods apart: it has 2.7 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 20 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft, yet theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.2.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 98% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.20 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 86% 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. 94% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (8 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 84% 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.0.8 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 83% of US city residents
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 Laguna Woods: D+ (19 of 100).4 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 66% 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.7.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 65% 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 Laguna Woods
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Laguna Woods about $245 a year per household, 80% 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 $8.4 million a year, or $469 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$420,000
$24
Rape
$170,000
$9
Robbery
$190,000
$10
Assault
$620,000
$35
Burglary
$150,000
$8
Theft
$530,000
$29
Vehicle theft
$720,000
$40
Arson
$34,000
$2
Vandalism
$140,000
$8
Total
$3.0 million
$166
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 Laguna Woods 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. Laguna Woods 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 Laguna Woods, CA average a SchoolGrade of A+: 59% of students test proficient, against 56% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Laguna Woods on SchoolGrade
