Vista is a city of 116,600 in San Diego County, about 35 miles north of downtown San Diego · Updated November 2026
Is Vista, CA safe?
Yes, by national standards: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in Vista is low. Most US neighborhoods have even less, though: 60% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent and property crime both grade A- here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Vista run from A+ to C, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 779 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
40% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Vista as a whole, and 60% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Vista scores 779.
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 Vista, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Vista, 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 Vista
Burglaries happen at stores and businesses far more often than nationally. In Vista, 55% of reported burglaries happen at stores and businesses, against 28% nationally.
Vandalism runs low. Vista has 2.6 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, about half the US rate of 5.5.
The safest and least safe parts of Vista
Most of Vista grades well: 97% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Vista run from A+ to C; 26% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
97%
A or B 97%C 3%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Vista, the east side has the least crime and the center the most.
Crime rates and types in Vista
CrimeGrade™ estimates Vista has about 25 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 33% less than the US as a whole and 38% 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.
Assault is the most common crime in Vista, about 41% of everything reported, and it also accounts for 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 Vista
Vista 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 (55%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (34%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (49%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Parking lots and garages (22%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (41%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (35%)
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.
How Vista compares with nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to Vista, 9 have less crime. Bonsall and Chappo have the least.
Two things set Vista apart: it has 15 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby, and 2.8% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery, and robbery runs high here.
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 Vista: C- (28 of 100).15 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 89% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.2.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 89% 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. 79% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (20 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 58% 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.43% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 78% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 71% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.36 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 61% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Vista on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Vista
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Vista about $991 a year per household, 18% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $37 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 $125 million a year, or $1,069 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$5.7 million
$49
Rape
$850,000
$7
Robbery
$2.1 million
$18
Assault
$16 million
$140
Burglary
$1.4 million
$12
Theft
$4.6 million
$39
Vehicle theft
$3.9 million
$34
Arson
$260,000
$2
Vandalism
$2.2 million
$18
Total
$37 million
$320
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 Vista 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 Vista, CA average a SchoolGrade of B-: 37% of students test proficient, against 34% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Vista on SchoolGrade
