The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Patterson, CA
Patterson is a city of 29,100 in Stanislaus County, about 14 miles southwest of downtown Modesto · Updated November 2026
Is Patterson, CA safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in Patterson is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Patterson sits near the middle: 45% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 55% in neighborhoods with less. Violent and property crime both grade A- here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Patterson run from A+ to B, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 811 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
45% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Patterson as a whole, and 55% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Patterson scores 811.
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 Patterson, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Patterson, 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 Patterson
Thefts and simple assaults both run low. In Patterson, each runs at less than half the US rate: 5.3 thefts and 4.3 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 and 9.7 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Patterson
Every part of Patterson where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Patterson run from A+ to B; 14% 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 Patterson, the northwest side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Patterson?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Patterson is up 34% and property crime is down 50%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.1 to 2.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 19 to 9.6 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 19%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
PattersonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Patterson. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Patterson
Violent, US
Property, Patterson
Property, US
2016
+36%
+4%
+17%
+15%
2017
+2%
+4%
+21%
+12%
2018
+16%
+0%
-10%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+1%
+4%
-40%
-8%
2021
+11%
+6%
-28%
-10%
2022
-11%
+5%
-23%
-6%
2023
+29%
+2%
-38%
-7%
2024
+34%
-4%
-50%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Patterson
CrimeGrade™ estimates Patterson has about 23 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 39% less than the US as a whole and 43% 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.
The largest share of crime reported in Patterson is assault, about 29% 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 Patterson compares with nearby cities
Patterson has more crime than 7 of its 10 nearest cities. Crows Landing and Westley have the least crime nearby.
Two things set Patterson apart: it has 51% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and 6.7 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places where many residents live in dense blocks tend to report more robbery and car theft, and they run high here.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.51% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 83% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.6.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 83% 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 (18 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 52% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.34 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 64% 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.88% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 63% 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 Patterson: D (12 of 100).3 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 61% 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 Patterson
Crime costs Patterson about $1,251 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 $33 million a year, or $1,149 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$2.1 million
$73
Rape
$470,000
$16
Robbery
$610,000
$21
Assault
$2.7 million
$94
Burglary
$530,000
$18
Theft
$790,000
$27
Vehicle theft
$1.1 million
$38
Arson
$83,000
$3
Vandalism
$1.1 million
$37
Total
$9.5 million
$327
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 Patterson 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. Patterson is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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 Patterson, CA average a SchoolGrade of D+: 27% of students test proficient, against 27% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Patterson on SchoolGrade
