The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in San Clemente, CA
San Clemente is a city of 61,800 in Orange County, about 55 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles · Updated November 2026
Is San Clemente, CA safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A means crime in San Clemente is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so San Clemente sits near the middle: 54% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 46% in neighborhoods with less. Violent crime grades A and property crime A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within San Clemente run from A to C+, 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 San Clemente as a whole, and 46% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. San Clemente 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 San Clemente, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in San Clemente, 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 San Clemente
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In San Clemente, 39% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of San Clemente
Most of San Clemente grades well: 96% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across San Clemente run from A to C+; 69% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
96%
A or B 96%C 4%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within San Clemente, the northeast side has the least crime and the south side the most.
Is crime going up in San Clemente?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in San Clemente is up 34% and property crime is down 12%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.3 to 1.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 14 to 12 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 19% and property crime fell 13%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
San ClementeUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves San Clemente. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, San Clemente
Violent, US
Property, San Clemente
Property, US
2016
-13%
+4%
-7%
+15%
2017
+4%
+4%
-12%
+12%
2018
+30%
+0%
-2%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+6%
+4%
-5%
-8%
2021
+6%
+6%
-15%
-10%
2022
+69%
+5%
+1%
-6%
2023
+12%
+2%
+1%
-7%
2024
+34%
-4%
-12%
-15%
Crime rates and types in San Clemente
CrimeGrade™ estimates San Clemente has about 21 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 43% less than the US as a whole and 47% 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 43% of crime reported in San Clemente. 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 San Clemente
San Clemente has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In San Clemente, 52% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (52%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (32%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (39%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (33%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (48%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (39%)
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 San Clemente compares with nearby cities
San Clemente has more crime than 7 of its 10 nearest cities. Camp Pendleton and Laguna Niguel have the least crime nearby.
Shops, parking lots and walkability in San Clemente
One thing sets San Clemente apart: it has 15.0 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft; here theft sits near the national middle.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.15.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 87% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.3 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 67% 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. 75% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (20 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 59% 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.28% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 66% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.4.7% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 63% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.36 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 60% 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 San Clemente
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs San Clemente about $584 a year per household, 52% 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 $36 million a year, or $586 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.4 million
$22
Rape
$390,000
$6
Robbery
$930,000
$15
Assault
$4.3 million
$70
Burglary
$750,000
$12
Theft
$2.9 million
$47
Vehicle theft
$1.9 million
$32
Arson
$210,000
$3
Vandalism
$1.1 million
$18
Total
$14 million
$225
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 San Clemente 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 San Clemente, CA average a SchoolGrade of A+: 59% of students test proficient, against 50% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in San Clemente on SchoolGrade
