The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in South Lake Tahoe, CA
South Lake Tahoe is a city of 29,400 in El Dorado County, about 85 miles east of downtown Sacramento · Updated November 2026
Is South Lake Tahoe, CA safe?
Mostly, yes. Crime in South Lake Tahoe is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-, but most US neighborhoods are safer still: South Lake Tahoe has more crime than the neighborhoods where 61% of Americans live. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A against B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within South Lake Tahoe run from A+ to C+, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 774 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
39% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than South Lake Tahoe as a whole, and 61% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. South Lake Tahoe scores 774.
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 South Lake Tahoe, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in South Lake Tahoe, 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 South Lake Tahoe
Aggravated assault stands out among A-graded cities. For the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 1.2 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents; South Lake Tahoe has 5.2.
Burglaries run high in Bijou. In this part of northeast South Lake Tahoe, they run at about double the rate in the rest of South Lake Tahoe.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in South Lake Tahoe
Low crime is the norm across South Lake Tahoe: 96% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across South Lake Tahoe run from A+ to C+; 29% 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.
1Gardner Mountain, Tahoe Isles Park & Tamarack, westClose to the rest of South Lake Tahoe on most crimes.A-800
2Tahoe Sierra, centralActs of vandalism run about 30% higher here than in the rest of South Lake Tahoe.B+744
3Al Tahoe, northAggravated assaults run about 30% higher here than in the rest of South Lake Tahoe.B+724
4Bijou, northeastAggravated assaults run about 80% higher here than in the rest of South Lake Tahoe.B674
Neighborhood areas of South Lake Tahoe, 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 South Lake Tahoe?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in South Lake Tahoe is up 60% and property crime is down 26%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 4.9 to 7.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 20 to 15 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 17%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
South Lake TahoeUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves South Lake Tahoe. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, South Lake Tahoe
Violent, US
Property, South Lake Tahoe
Property, US
2016
-32%
+4%
+2%
+15%
2017
-46%
+4%
+11%
+12%
2018
+65%
+0%
+2%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+8%
+4%
+2%
-8%
2021
+52%
+6%
+5%
-10%
2022
+35%
+5%
-16%
-6%
2023
+38%
+2%
-28%
-7%
2024
+60%
-4%
-26%
-15%
Crime rates and types in South Lake Tahoe
CrimeGrade™ estimates South Lake Tahoe has about 38 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about the same as the US as a whole and close to 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 South Lake Tahoe is assault, about 46% 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.
Where and when crime happens in South Lake Tahoe
South Lake Tahoe has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In South Lake Tahoe, 40% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 37% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (43%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Car theft
Homes (31%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (37%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (38%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (54%)
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; they are over one in five for burglary.
How South Lake Tahoe compares with nearby cities
South Lake Tahoe has the most crime of its 5 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from South Lake Tahoe. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, South Lake Tahoe has more crime than 91% of them.
Shops, night lighting and walkability in South Lake Tahoe
Two things set South Lake Tahoe apart: it has 19.7 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 41% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally. Places with many stores and restaurants tend to report more theft, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.19.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 96% 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.41% where people liveUS: 78%Lower 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. 73% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (23 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 70% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.9.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 84% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.0 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 78% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.10% of residentsUS: 24%Lower 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 South Lake Tahoe
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs South Lake Tahoe about $1,151 a year per household, 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 $51 million a year, or $1,723 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.8 million
$60
Rape
$1.2 million
$39
Robbery
$440,000
$15
Assault
$6.9 million
$236
Burglary
$550,000
$19
Theft
$1.4 million
$49
Vehicle theft
$690,000
$23
Arson
$300,000
$10
Vandalism
$1.3 million
$43
Total
$15 million
$494
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 South Lake Tahoe 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 South Lake Tahoe, CA average a SchoolGrade of B: 39% of students test proficient, against 40% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in South Lake Tahoe on SchoolGrade
