The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Lake Forest, CA: Crime Maps and Statistics

Overall Crime Grade™

Violent Crime Grade	D
Property Crime Grade	F
Other Crime Grade	B+

Which crimes are included?

$32.4 million

Cost of Crime™ for Lake Forest, CA

In 2025, crime will cost $1,375 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Lake Forest 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 Lake Forest, 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 Lake Forest's combined rate is higher than the norm. Lake Forest sits in the 15th percentile, ahead of 15% of cities and behind 85%. The grade covers only Lake Forest's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities.

The overall crime rate in Lake Forest is 41.98 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the northwest part of the city the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 16 in the southwest neighborhoods to 1 in 49 in the northwest.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the northeast parts of Lake Forest, CA report the most crime, about 684 cases per year. The northwest part reports the fewest, around 74 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Lake Forest, CA

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in Lake Forest for 2025 is $32,390,552, about $481 per resident and $1,375 per household. That equals 0.8% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 59.5%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 30.0%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 10.5%

How Much Does Crime Cost in Lake Forest Compared to Other Cities?

Lake Forest, CA:	$481
Lodi, CA:	$1387
Rescue, CA:	$213
California:	$491
USA:	$464

The overall cost of crime per resident in Lake Forest is $481 per year, which is $17 more than the national average and $10 less than California's state average. The comparison below uses cities similar to Lake Forest:

In Lodi, CA, crime costs $1,387 per person, which is $906 more than in Lake Forest.
In Rescue, CA, crime costs $213 per person, which is $268 less than in Lake Forest

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

The table below shows the total cost of crime to the residents of Lake Forest for the year 2025 along with the projected cost per resident.

Crime	Cost to Lake Forest	Cost per Lake Forest Resident
Murder	$2.39 million	$35
Rape/Sexual Assault	$2.07 million	$31
Robbery	$2.22 million	$33
Assault	$6.80 million	$101
Kidnapping	$409,154	$6
Vehicle Theft	$4.08 million	$61
Burglary	$4.61 million	$68
Theft	$7.12 million	$106
Arson	$387,308	$6
Vandalism	$1.16 million	$17
Animal Cruelty	$8,636	$0
Drug Crimes	$759,835	$11
Identity Theft	$381,544	$6
Total Cost of Crime	$32,390,552	$481

The Intangible Cost of Crime in Lake Forest, 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 Lake Forest totals $28,822,921 ($428 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $61,213,473 ($909 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 southwest 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, of which Lake Forest has 7, do the same, and of Lake Forest's 67,342 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 Lake Forest, CA at ISP Reports.

Lake Forest 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 Lake Forest residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	3.514
Robbery	1.050
Rape	0.5058
Murder	0.0189
Total Violent Crime	5.089 (D)

Property Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Theft	20.41
Vehicle Theft	3.916
Burglary	7.541
Arson	0.2382
Total Property Crime	32.11 (F)

Other Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Kidnapping	0.1002
Drug Crimes	1.525
Vandalism	2.413
Identity Theft	0.7320
Animal Cruelty	0.0173
Total "Other" Rate	4.788 (B+)

Individual Lake Forest Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Cities

Compared to surrounding cities, the rate of crime in Lake Forest is higher. The table below shows Crime Grades for cities close to Lake Forest.

Nearby City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Mission Viejo, CA	D	D	D-
Foothill Ranch, CA	D+	C	D-
Laguna Woods, CA	D	D-	D-
Laguna Hills, CA	F	D-	F
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA	C-	C-	D
Top-of-the-World, CA	B-	B-	C-
Aliso Viejo, CA	D	D+	D-
Trabuco Canyon, CA	B	C	C
Modjeska, CA	C	D+	D+
Silverado, CA	C-	D+	D

Crime Maps and Rates for City with Similar Populations

Lake Forest 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
Brentwood, CA	B	B-	B-
Wyoming, MI	C-	D-	D-
Powder Springs, GA	B-	B-	B-
San Pablo, CA	C-	D+	D+
Malden, MA	B	C+	C+
Aiken, SC	D	D-	D-
Hanford, CA	D+	C-	C-
Grants Pass, OR	C	B-	B-
Goose Creek, SC	D+	C	C
Gilroy, CA	B+	C-	C-

Considering only the crime rate, Lake Forest is less safe than 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 Lake Forest, CA average SchoolGrade of A, with 63% actual proficiency versus 46% projected; overall, schools greatly exceed expectations. See Lake Forest 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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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.