The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Saratoga, CA
Saratoga is a city of 32,900 in Santa Clara County, about 9 miles southwest of downtown San Jose · Updated November 2026
Is Saratoga, CA safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Saratoga has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A, safer than the neighborhoods where 70% of Americans live. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A+ against A. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Saratoga run from A+ to B, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 908 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
70% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Saratoga as a whole, and 30% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Saratoga scores 908.
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 Saratoga, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Saratoga, 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 Saratoga
Car thefts and thefts both run low. In Saratoga, each runs at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.72 car thefts and 3.9 thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 13.1 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Saratoga
Every part of Saratoga where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Saratoga run from A+ to B; 97% 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 Saratoga, the southwest side has the least crime and the northeast side the most.
Is crime going up in Saratoga?
Reported property crime in Saratoga has fallen 26% since 2019. Too few violent crimes are reported here each year for a reliable violent crime trend. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 7.8 to 5.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
SaratogaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Saratoga. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Saratoga
Property, US
2016
+17%
+15%
2017
-21%
+12%
2018
-2%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-10%
-8%
2021
-4%
-10%
2022
+3%
-6%
2023
-22%
-7%
2024
-26%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Saratoga
CrimeGrade™ estimates Saratoga has about 14 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 63% less than the US as a whole and 65% 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.
Vandalism makes up about 32% of crime reported in Saratoga. 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.
The Saratoga Police Department reports to the FBI in a format that leaves out vandalism, so CrimeGrade™ makes its own vandalism estimate.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
How Saratoga compares with nearby cities
Saratoga has the least crime of its 10 nearest cities.
Two things set Saratoga apart: it has 5.0 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 24 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft, and it runs low here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.5.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 92% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.24 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 81% 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. 93% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (11 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 72% 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.4% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 76% 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.78% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 73% 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 Saratoga: D+ (19 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 Saratoga
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Saratoga about $418 a year per household, 65% 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 $13 million a year, or $395 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$480,000
$15
Rape
$370,000
$11
Robbery
$340,000
$10
Assault
$1.0 million
$32
Burglary
$590,000
$18
Theft
$650,000
$20
Vehicle theft
$360,000
$11
Arson
$97,000
$3
Vandalism
$1.0 million
$31
Total
$5.0 million
$151
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 Saratoga 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. Saratoga 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 Saratoga, CA average a SchoolGrade of A+: 74% of students test proficient, against 67% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Saratoga on SchoolGrade
