The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Palo Alto, CA: Crime Maps and Statistics

D-

Overall Crime Grade™

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

Which crimes are included?

$38.0 million

Cost of Crime™ for Palo Alto, CA

In 2025, crime will cost $1,446 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto, 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 Palo Alto's combined rate is much higher than the norm. Palo Alto sits in the 14th percentile, ahead of 14% of cities and behind 86%. The grade covers only Palo Alto's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities.

The overall crime rate in Palo Alto is 43.91 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the east part of the city the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 8 in the west neighborhoods to 1 in 52 in the east.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the northwest parts of Palo Alto, CA report the most crime, about 810 cases per year. The southwest part reports the fewest, around 89 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Palo Alto, CA

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in Palo Alto for 2025 is $37,968,658, about $547 per resident and $1,446 per household. That equals 0.5% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 57.8%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 31.2%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 10.9%

How Much Does Crime Cost in Palo Alto Compared to Other Cities?

Palo Alto, CA:	$547
Lodi, CA:	$1387
Rescue, CA:	$213
California:	$491
USA:	$464

The overall cost of crime per resident in Palo Alto is $547 per year, which is $83 more than the national average and $56 more than California's state average. The comparison below uses cities similar to Palo Alto:

In Lodi, CA, crime costs $1,387 per person, which is $841 more than in Palo Alto.
In Rescue, CA, crime costs $213 per person, which is $334 less than in Palo Alto

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

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

Crime	Cost to Palo Alto	Cost per Palo Alto Resident
Murder	$8.90 million	$128
Rape/Sexual Assault	$2.32 million	$33
Robbery	$2.48 million	$36
Assault	$4.92 million	$71
Kidnapping	$610,283	$9
Vehicle Theft	$2.17 million	$31
Burglary	$4.55 million	$66
Theft	$8.86 million	$128
Arson	$412,530	$6
Vandalism	$1.38 million	$20
Animal Cruelty	$11,985	$0
Drug Crimes	$1.11 million	$16
Identity Theft	$249,971	$4
Total Cost of Crime	$37,968,658	$547

The Intangible Cost of Crime in Palo Alto, 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 Palo Alto totals $72,721,053 ($1,047 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $110,689,711 ($1,594 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 northwest 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 Palo Alto has 16, do the same, and of Palo Alto's 69,439 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 Palo Alto, CA at ISP Reports.

Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	2.469
Robbery	1.134
Rape	0.5520
Murder	0.0682
Total Violent Crime	4.223 (D+)

Property Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Theft	24.62
Vehicle Theft	2.020
Burglary	7.223
Arson	0.2460
Total Property Crime	34.11 (F)

Other Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Kidnapping	0.1450
Drug Crimes	2.153
Vandalism	2.785
Identity Theft	0.4651
Animal Cruelty	0.0233
Total "Other" Rate	5.572 (B+)

Individual Palo Alto Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Cities

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

Nearby City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Stanford, CA	D-	C-	F
East Palo Alto, CA	C-	D	D+
Menlo Park, CA	C-	D+	D+
Mountain View, CA	D	C	D-
Atherton, CA	D	D	D-
Los Altos Hills, CA	B	C+	C
Los Altos, CA	C+	B-	D+
North Fair Oaks, CA	D+	D	D+
Portola Valley, CA	B-	D+	C+
Redwood City, CA	C-	D+	D+

Crime Maps and Rates for City with Similar Populations

Palo Alto 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
Huntington, WV	C-	D+	D+
Waterloo, IA	D	D-	D-
West Des Moines, IA	C+	B-	B-
Bethesda, MD	C+	B-	B-
North Port, FL	A+	A	A
Lakewood, WA	F	F	F
The Colony, TX	C-	B-	B-
Kokomo, IN	B-	C	C
Kingsport, TN	D-	D-	D-
Hilliard, OH	B	A-	A-

Considering only the crime rate, Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto, CA average SchoolGrade of A+, with 77% actual proficiency versus 60% projected; overall, schools greatly exceed expectations. See Palo Alto 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.