The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Spring Valley, CA
Spring Valley is an unincorporated community of 34,100 in San Diego County, about 10 miles east of downtown San Diego · Updated November 2026
Is Spring Valley, CA safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B, Spring Valley has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 73% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent crime grades B+ and property crime B-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Spring Valley run from A to D+, so check the map below.
B
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 659 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
27% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Spring Valley as a whole, and 73% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Spring Valley scores 659.
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 Spring Valley, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Spring Valley, 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 Spring Valley
Theft is a strength. Spring Valley grades B- for property crime, but theft grades A-, better than in the neighborhoods where 56% of Americans live.
Car thefts run high. Spring Valley has car thefts at about double the US rate: 5.4 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Spring Valley
Low crime is the norm across Spring Valley: 83% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 5% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Spring Valley run from A to D+; 1% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
83%12%
A or B 83%C 12%D or F 5%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Spring Valley, the east side has the least crime and the southwest side the most.
Crime rates and types in Spring Valley
CrimeGrade™ estimates Spring Valley has about 25 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 32% less than the US as a whole and 37% 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.
The largest share of crime reported in Spring Valley is assault, about 48% 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.
How Spring Valley compares with nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to Spring Valley, 6 have less crime. Rancho San Diego and Bonita have the least.
Empty homes, shops and walkability in Spring Valley
Two things set Spring Valley apart: it has 1.7% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 3.5 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson; here burglary and vandalism sit near the national middle.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.1.7% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 97% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.3.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 96% 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. 94% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (13 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 66% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.14 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 94% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.6 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 88% 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 Spring Valley: D+ (19 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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 Spring Valley
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Spring Valley about $1,134 a year per household, 6% 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 $39 million a year, or $1,154 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.5 million
$45
Rape
$240,000
$7
Robbery
$450,000
$13
Assault
$5.7 million
$166
Burglary
$360,000
$11
Theft
$660,000
$19
Vehicle theft
$2.9 million
$84
Arson
$52,000
$2
Vandalism
$520,000
$15
Total
$12 million
$361
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 Spring Valley 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. Spring Valley 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 Spring Valley, CA average a SchoolGrade of C: 34% of students test proficient, against 31% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Spring Valley on SchoolGrade
