The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in San Rafael, CA: Crime Maps and Statistics

Overall Crime Grade™

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

Which crimes are included?

$39.8 million

Cost of Crime™ for San Rafael, CA

In 2025, crime will cost $1,462 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of San Rafael 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 San Rafael, 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 San Rafael's combined rate is higher than the norm. San Rafael sits in the 20th percentile, ahead of 20% of cities and behind 80%. The grade covers only San Rafael's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities.

The overall crime rate in San Rafael is 37.70 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 17 in the south neighborhoods to 1 in 38 in the east.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the southeast parts of San Rafael, CA report the most crime, about 563 cases per year. The northeast part reports the fewest, around 40 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in San Rafael, CA

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in San Rafael for 2025 is $39,789,845, about $548 per resident and $1,462 per household. That equals 0.8% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 54.1%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 34.9%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 10.9%

How Much Does Crime Cost in San Rafael Compared to Other Cities?

San Rafael, CA:	$548
Lodi, CA:	$1387
Rescue, CA:	$213
California:	$491
USA:	$464

The overall cost of crime per resident in San Rafael is $548 per year, which is $84 more than the national average and $58 more than California's state average. The comparison below uses cities similar to San Rafael:

In Lodi, CA, crime costs $1,387 per person, which is $839 more than in San Rafael.
In Rescue, CA, crime costs $213 per person, which is $335 less than in San Rafael

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

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

Crime	Cost to San Rafael	Cost per San Rafael Resident
Murder	$7.70 million	$106
Rape/Sexual Assault	$2.46 million	$34
Robbery	$3.24 million	$45
Assault	$7.75 million	$107
Kidnapping	$655,699	$9
Vehicle Theft	$5.73 million	$79
Burglary	$2.33 million	$32
Theft	$6.57 million	$90
Arson	$480,049	$7
Vandalism	$1.04 million	$14
Animal Cruelty	$8,598	$0
Drug Crimes	$1.51 million	$21
Identity Theft	$326,848	$5
Total Cost of Crime	$39,789,845	$548

The Intangible Cost of Crime in San Rafael, 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 San Rafael totals $66,641,187 ($918 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $106,431,032 ($1,467 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 south 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 San Rafael has 22, do the same, and of San Rafael's 72,573 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 San Rafael, CA at ISP Reports.

San Rafael 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 San Rafael residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	3.718
Robbery	1.418
Rape	0.5585
Murder	0.0564
Total Violent Crime	5.751 (D-)

Property Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Theft	17.47
Vehicle Theft	5.103
Burglary	3.542
Arson	0.2739
Total Property Crime	26.39 (D-)

Other Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Kidnapping	0.1490
Drug Crimes	2.807
Vandalism	2.004
Identity Theft	0.5819
Animal Cruelty	0.0160
Total "Other" Rate	5.558 (B+)

Individual San Rafael Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Cities

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

Nearby City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Ross, CA	D+	D-	D
San Anselmo, CA	C-	D+	D
Kentfield, CA	C-	D	D
Greenbrae, CA	D-	F	D-
Larkspur, CA	D	D-	D-
Sleepy Hollow, CA	B	C	C+
Fairfax, CA	C-	D	D
San Quentin, CA	D-	F	F
Corte Madera, CA	D+	D+	D-
Mill Valley, CA	D+	D+	D

Crime Maps and Rates for City with Similar Populations

San Rafael 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
Boulder, CO	F	D	D
Binghamton, NY	D+	D-	D-
Bremerton, WA	F	D+	D+
Bethesda, MD	C+	B-	B-
Burleson, TX	C+	C	C
Bryan, TX	C	C	C
Bolingbrook, IL	B-	B+	B+
Bothell, WA	D+	B-	B-
Brick, NJ	A+	A+	A+
Bronx, NY	C-	D	D

Considering only the crime rate, San Rafael 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 San Rafael, CA average SchoolGrade of C, with 35% actual proficiency versus 44% projected; overall, schools underperform expectations. See San Rafael 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.