Moss Landing is an unincorporated community of 2,910 in Monterey County, about 11 miles northwest of downtown Salinas · Updated November 2026
Is Moss Landing, CA safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A means crime in Moss Landing is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Moss Landing sits near the middle: 59% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 41% in neighborhoods with less. Violent and property crime both grade A here. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A to A-; see the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 876 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
59% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Moss Landing as a whole, and 41% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Moss Landing scores 876.
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 Moss Landing, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Moss Landing, 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 Moss Landing
Car thefts run high for an A-graded city. Moss Landing has 6.8 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 0.93.
Crime rates and types in Moss Landing
CrimeGrade™ estimates Moss Landing has about 35 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 7% less than the US as a whole and close to 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.
The largest share of crime reported in Moss Landing is assault, about 38% of the total. It also makes up the largest share of what crime costs here.
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.
How Moss Landing compares with nearby cities
Moss Landing has less crime than 6 of its 8 nearest cities; only Aromas and Elkhorn have less.
Parking lots, walkability and night lighting in Moss Landing
Two things set Moss Landing apart: it has 7.2 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and a Walk Grade of F (2 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places with a lot of parking-lot space tend to report more theft, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.7.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 99% 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. 99% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.F (2 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 97% 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.11% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 97% 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.1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 88% 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 Moss Landing: F (3 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.13.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 81% 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 Moss Landing
Crime costs Moss Landing about $1,258 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, about the same as 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 $4.3 million a year, or $1,490 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$170,000
$57
Rape
$69,000
$24
Robbery
$64,000
$22
Assault
$530,000
$182
Burglary
$55,000
$19
Theft
$100,000
$35
Vehicle theft
$300,000
$104
Arson
$8,900
$3
Vandalism
$96,000
$33
Total
$1.4 million
$479
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 Moss Landing 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 Moss Landing, CA average a SchoolGrade of D-: 20% of students test proficient, against 21% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Moss Landing on SchoolGrade
