The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Torrance, CA
Torrance is a city of 153,100 in Los Angeles County, about 16 miles south of downtown Los Angeles · Updated November 2026
Is Torrance, CA safe?
Mostly, yes. Crime in Torrance is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-, but most US neighborhoods are safer still: Torrance has more crime than the neighborhoods where 61% of Americans live. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A against B-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Torrance run from A to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 770 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
39% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Torrance as a whole, and 61% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Torrance scores 770.
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 Torrance, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Torrance, 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 Torrance
Robberies run high for an A-graded city. Torrance has 1.1 robberies a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 0.13.
One part of Torrance stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in South East Torrance, in southeast Torrance, run at about triple the rate in the rest of the city.
Burglaries happen at stores and businesses far more often than nationally. In Torrance, 49% of reported burglaries happen at stores and businesses, against 28% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Torrance
Low crime is the norm across Torrance: 82% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 4% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Torrance run from A to F; 6% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
82%14%
A or B 82%C 14%D or F 4%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Walteria, southCar thefts run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Torrance.A-827
2Hollywood Riviera, southwestAggravated assaults run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Torrance.A-812
3North Torrance, northCar thefts run at about half the rate in the rest of Torrance.A-790
4West Torrance, northwestThefts run about 60% higher here than in the rest of Torrance.A-772
5Harbor Gateway & Old Town, eastCar thefts run at more than double the rate in the rest of Torrance.B-547
6South East Torrance, southeastRobberies run at about triple the rate in the rest of Torrance.C+527
Neighborhood areas of Torrance, 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 Torrance?
Reported crime in Torrance has risen since 2019: violent crime is up 56% and property crime up 37%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.0 to 3.1 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 20 to 27 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 16%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
TorranceUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Torrance. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Torrance
Violent, US
Property, Torrance
Property, US
2016
-10%
+4%
+10%
+15%
2017
-6%
+4%
+10%
+12%
2018
-6%
+0%
-6%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-4%
+4%
+1%
-8%
2021
+15%
+6%
+16%
-10%
2022
+34%
+5%
+32%
-6%
2023
+34%
+2%
+33%
-7%
2024
+56%
-4%
+37%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Torrance
CrimeGrade™ estimates Torrance has about 37 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 Torrance is theft, 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 Torrance
Torrance has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 49% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (49%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (48%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (49%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (26%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (63%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (33%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Torrance compares with nearby cities
Torrance has less crime than 9 of its 10 nearest cities; only Rolling Hills Estates has less.
Two things set Torrance apart: it has 16.7 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 74 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. It also combines many jobs with busy transit: places with both tend to report more theft and robbery than places with only one of them, and they run high here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.16.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 92% 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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 92% 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. 51% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C (36 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 86% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.74 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 88% 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.64% of residentsUS: 24%Higher 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 Torrance: C- (28 of 100).6 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 73% 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 Torrance
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Torrance about $1,005 a year per household, 17% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $59 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 $138 million a year, or $898 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$4.1 million
$27
Rape
$2.5 million
$16
Robbery
$5.2 million
$34
Assault
$12 million
$80
Burglary
$5.9 million
$39
Theft
$13 million
$86
Vehicle theft
$11 million
$74
Arson
$320,000
$2
Vandalism
$4.0 million
$26
Total
$59 million
$384
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 Torrance 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 Torrance, CA average a SchoolGrade of A+: 56% of students test proficient, against 50% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Torrance on SchoolGrade
