The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Northridge, CA
Northridge is a city of 102,100 in Los Angeles County, about 20 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles · Updated November 2026
Is Northridge, CA safe?
Crime in Northridge is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 62% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Northridge. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A- against B. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Northridge run from A to F, so check the map below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 768 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
38% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Northridge as a whole, and 62% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Northridge scores 768.
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 Northridge, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Northridge, 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 Northridge
Burglaries run above the US rate. Northridge has less crime than the US as a whole, 17% below the US rate, but more burglaries: 3.7 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.4 nationally.
Simple assaults and acts of vandalism both run low. In Northridge, each runs at about half the US rate: 5.1 simple assaults and 2.7 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 9.7 and 5.5 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Northridge
Most of Northridge grades well: 89% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 3% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Northridge run from A to F; 32% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
89%
A or B 89%C 8%D or F 3%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Northridge, the northwest side has the least crime and the south side the most.
Crime rates and types in Northridge
CrimeGrade™ estimates Northridge has about 31 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 17% less than the US as a whole and 22% 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 44% of crime reported in Northridge. 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.
How Northridge compares with nearby cities
Northridge has less crime than 9 of its 10 nearest cities; only Chatsworth has less.
Parking lots, night lighting and walkability in Northridge
Two things set Northridge apart: it has 0.6 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 38% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places with little parking-lot space tend to report less theft, yet theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
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 88% 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 81% 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. 65% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (26 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 75% 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.38% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 75% 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 Northridge: D+ (21 of 100).5 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 70% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.37 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 58% 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 Northridge
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Northridge about $978 a year per household, 19% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $33 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $86 million a year, or $841 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$3.5 million
$34
Rape
$1.3 million
$13
Robbery
$2.4 million
$24
Assault
$8.8 million
$86
Burglary
$3.4 million
$34
Theft
$7.1 million
$70
Vehicle theft
$4.7 million
$46
Arson
$81,000
$1
Vandalism
$1.9 million
$19
Total
$33 million
$326
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 Northridge 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
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 Northridge, CA average a SchoolGrade of A-: 49% of students test proficient, against 37% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Northridge on SchoolGrade
