The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Lake Forest, CA
Lake Forest is a city of 65,400 in Orange County, about 45 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles · Updated November 2026
Is Lake Forest, CA safe?
Yes, crime in Lake Forest is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Lake Forest sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 59% of Americans live. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A against A-. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A to A-; see the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 875 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
59% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Lake Forest as a whole, and 41% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Lake Forest scores 875.
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 Lake Forest, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Lake Forest, 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 Lake Forest
Burglaries and aggravated assaults both run low. In Lake Forest, each runs at about half the US rate: 1.2 burglaries and 1.3 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.4 and 2.6 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Lake Forest
Every part of Lake Forest where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Lake Forest run from A to A-; 91% 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 Lake Forest, the north side has the least crime and the south side the most.
Crime rates and types in Lake Forest
CrimeGrade™ estimates Lake Forest has about 18 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 52% less than the US as a whole and 55% 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 makes up about 43% of crime reported in Lake Forest. Assault is less common but 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 Lake Forest
Lake Forest has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Lake Forest, 34% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 51% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (50%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (43%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (51%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Parking lots and garages (28%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (40%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (44%)
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 Lake Forest compares with nearby cities
Of the 8 cities closest to Lake Forest, 6 have less crime. Trabuco Canyon and Foothill Ranch have the least.
Night lighting, density and walkability in Lake Forest
Two things set Lake Forest apart: it has 44% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and 1.0 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places where many residents live in dense blocks tend to report more robbery and car theft, and they run high here.
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
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
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. 80% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (19 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 55% 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.1.0 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 77% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.13.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 77% 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.3.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 75% 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 Lake Forest
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Lake Forest about $545 a year per household, 55% 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 $33 million a year, or $507 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.3 million
$20
Rape
$330,000
$5
Robbery
$780,000
$12
Assault
$4.0 million
$62
Burglary
$680,000
$10
Theft
$2.5 million
$39
Vehicle theft
$1.6 million
$25
Arson
$150,000
$2
Vandalism
$930,000
$14
Total
$12 million
$189
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 Lake Forest 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 Lake Forest, CA average a SchoolGrade of A+: 58% of students test proficient, against 54% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Lake Forest on SchoolGrade
