The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in San Mateo, CA
San Mateo is a city of 104,900 in San Mateo County, about 17 miles south of downtown San Francisco · Updated November 2026
Is San Mateo, CA safe?
Crime in San Mateo is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 61% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than San Mateo. Violent crime grades A- and property crime B. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within San Mateo run from A+ to C-, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 769 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
39% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than San Mateo as a whole, and 61% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. San Mateo scores 769.
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 Mateo, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in San Mateo, 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 Mateo
One part of San Mateo stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in North Central San Francisco, in northwest San Mateo, run at more than double the rate in the rest of the city.
Aggravated assaults are less common than in most B-graded cities. San Mateo has 1.3 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of a B-graded US city, the figure is 3.1.
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In San Mateo, 50% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in San Mateo
Low crime is the norm across San Mateo: 93% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across San Mateo run from A+ to C-; 19% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
93%
A or B 93%C 7%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Western Hills & Baywood Park, southwestCar thefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of San Mateo.A898
2Beresford, southBurglaries run about 40% lower here than in the rest of San Mateo.A-830
3Baywood-Aragon, westSimple assaults run about 40% lower here than in the rest of San Mateo.A-826
4Marina Lagoon & Shoreview, eastAggravated assaults run about 30% lower here than in the rest of San Mateo.A-805
5Hillsdale & Sugerloaf, southeastRobberies run about 70% higher here than in the rest of San Mateo.B+760
6Haywood Park, centralCar thefts run about 30% higher here than in the rest of San Mateo.B+754
7North Central San Francisco, northwestAggravated assaults run about 50% higher here than in the rest of San Mateo.B691
Neighborhood areas of San Mateo, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is crime going up in San Mateo?
Reported violent crime in San Mateo has held about steady since 2019, within 8%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.6 to 2.4 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 30%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
San MateoUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves San Mateo. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, San Mateo
Violent, US
2016
-9%
+4%
2017
+0%
+4%
2018
+6%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+1%
+4%
2021
+14%
+6%
2022
+16%
+5%
2023
+31%
+2%
2024
-8%
-4%
Crime rates and types in San Mateo
CrimeGrade™ estimates San Mateo has about 32 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 13% less than the US as a whole and 19% 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 is the most common crime in San Mateo, about 45% of everything reported, but assault 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.
The San Mateo Police Department's 2024 count of burglary fell far below its usual level, a sign of a reporting break, so CrimeGrade™ used the department's earlier years instead.
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 Mateo
San Mateo has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In San Mateo, 47% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (47%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (63%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (50%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (38%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (41%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (41%)
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 Mateo compares with nearby cities
San Mateo has more crime than 6 of its 9 nearest cities. Hillsborough and Foster City have the least crime nearby.
Density, walkability and parking lots in San Mateo
Two things set San Mateo apart: it has 70% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and a Walk Grade of C+ (44 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that 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.70% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 90% 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.C+ (44 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 89% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.7 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 84% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.52 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 66% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.11.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 66% 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.99% where people liveUS: 78%Higher 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 Mateo
Crime costs San Mateo about $864 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 28% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $35 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 $94 million a year, or $896 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$5.1 million
$48
Rape
$1.7 million
$16
Robbery
$2.6 million
$25
Assault
$7.9 million
$76
Burglary
$3.8 million
$36
Theft
$7.9 million
$75
Vehicle theft
$3.2 million
$30
Arson
$140,000
$1
Vandalism
$2.8 million
$27
Total
$35 million
$335
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 Mateo 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 San Mateo, CA average a SchoolGrade of A-: 53% of students test proficient, against 52% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in San Mateo on SchoolGrade
