The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Novato, CA
Novato is a city of 59,900 in Marin County, about 25 miles north of downtown San Francisco · Updated November 2026
Is Novato, CA safe?
Yes, crime in Novato is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Novato sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 54% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A and property crime A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Novato run from A+ to B, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 857 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
54% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Novato as a whole, and 46% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Novato scores 857.
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 Novato, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Novato, 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 Novato
Robbery stands out among A-graded cities. For the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 0.13 robberies a year per 1,000 residents; Novato has 0.48.
Arsons run above the US rate. Novato has less crime than the US as a whole, 31% below the US rate, but more arsons: 0.33 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.12 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Novato
Every part of Novato where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Novato run from A+ to B; 66% 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 Novato, the southwest side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Novato?
Reported violent crime in Novato peaked in 2020 and has fallen 44% since, back near its 2019 level. Property crime is down 20% from 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.8 to 2.5 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 17 to 13 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 23% and property crime fell 21%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
NovatoUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Novato. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Novato
Violent, US
Property, Novato
Property, US
2016
-46%
+4%
+15%
+15%
2017
-38%
+4%
+4%
+12%
2018
-35%
+0%
-14%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+62%
+4%
-4%
-8%
2021
+52%
+6%
-10%
-10%
2022
+11%
+5%
+2%
-6%
2023
+18%
+2%
+2%
-7%
2024
-10%
-4%
-20%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Novato
CrimeGrade™ estimates Novato has about 26 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 31% less than the US as a whole and 35% 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 39% of crime reported in Novato. 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 Novato
Novato has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Novato, 49% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 44% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (49%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (46%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (44%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (39%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (44%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (60%)
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 Novato compares with nearby cities
Novato has more crime than 4 of its 6 nearest cities. Woodacre and San Anselmo have the least crime nearby.
One thing sets Novato apart: it has 7 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places like that tend to report more theft and robbery, and robbery runs 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.57% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 84% 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 Novato: D+ (18 of 100).7 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 78% 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. 83% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (17 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 52% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.4.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 70% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.9.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 62% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.5 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 59% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Novato on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Novato
Crime costs Novato about $675 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 44% 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 $41 million a year, or $691 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.1 million
$18
Rape
$1.1 million
$19
Robbery
$890,000
$15
Assault
$5.4 million
$90
Burglary
$450,000
$8
Theft
$3.0 million
$51
Vehicle theft
$1.4 million
$23
Arson
$470,000
$8
Vandalism
$2.0 million
$33
Total
$16 million
$265
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 Novato 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 Novato, CA average a SchoolGrade of B+: 43% of students test proficient, against 44% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Novato on SchoolGrade
