The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Walnut Creek, CA
Walnut Creek is a city of 90,200 in Contra Costa County, about 20 miles northeast of downtown San Francisco · Updated November 2026
Is Walnut Creek, CA safe?
Yes, crime in Walnut Creek is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Walnut Creek sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 47% of Americans live. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A against B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Walnut Creek run from A+ to B-, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 825 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
47% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Walnut Creek as a whole, and 53% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Walnut Creek scores 825.
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 Walnut Creek, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Walnut Creek, 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 Walnut Creek
Robberies run high for an A-graded city. Walnut Creek has 0.72 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 Walnut Creek stands out for burglary. Burglaries in Downtown Walnut Creek & Buena Vista, in west Walnut Creek, run at about double the rate in the rest of the city.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Walnut Creek
Every part of Walnut Creek where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Walnut Creek run from A+ to B-; 52% 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.
1Northgate & Rancho San Miguel, eastBurglaries run at about half the rate in the rest of Walnut Creek.A900
2Woodlands, Diablo Shadows & Scottsdale, northeastCar thefts run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Walnut Creek.A871
3Parkmead & Saranap, southwestBurglaries run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Walnut Creek.A-840
4Walnut Heights, southBurglaries run about 30% higher here than in the rest of Walnut Creek.A-821
5Diablo Hills, centralCar thefts run about 60% higher here than in the rest of Walnut Creek.A-809
6Pleasant Valley & Bancroft Village, northCar thefts run about 90% higher here than in the rest of Walnut Creek.A-790
7Downtown Walnut Creek & Buena Vista, westCar thefts run about 80% higher here than in the rest of Walnut Creek.B+753
8Larkey Park, northwestThefts run about 90% higher here than in the rest of Walnut Creek.B+732
Neighborhood areas of Walnut Creek, 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 Walnut Creek?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Walnut Creek is up 59% and property crime is down 21%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.7 to 2.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 36 to 28 (US: 18). Neither changed much from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Walnut CreekUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Walnut Creek. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Walnut Creek
Violent, US
Property, Walnut Creek
Property, US
2016
-34%
+4%
-14%
+15%
2017
-12%
+4%
-7%
+12%
2018
-9%
+0%
-10%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-24%
+4%
-18%
-8%
2021
+9%
+6%
-22%
-10%
2022
+32%
+5%
-14%
-6%
2023
+70%
+2%
-24%
-7%
2024
+59%
-4%
-21%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Walnut Creek
CrimeGrade™ estimates Walnut Creek 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 Walnut Creek is theft, about 50% 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 Walnut Creek
Walnut Creek has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Walnut Creek, 36% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 63% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (43%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (48%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (63%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Parking lots and garages (36%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (58%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (40%)
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 Walnut Creek compares with nearby cities
Walnut Creek has more crime than 5 of its 9 nearest cities. Diablo and Alamo have the least crime nearby.
Two things set Walnut Creek apart: it has 2.8% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% 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.
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
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.74 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher 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 59% of US city residents
Show all 6
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 Walnut Creek: D+ (19 of 100).8 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 81% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.1 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 73% 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.30% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 68% 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 Walnut Creek
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Walnut Creek about $743 a year per household, 38% 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 $66 million a year, or $731 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.5 million
$16
Rape
$1.3 million
$14
Robbery
$2.0 million
$22
Assault
$8.1 million
$89
Burglary
$2.7 million
$30
Theft
$8.6 million
$96
Vehicle theft
$3.4 million
$38
Arson
$130,000
$1
Vandalism
$2.6 million
$29
Total
$30 million
$336
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 Walnut Creek 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 Walnut Creek, CA average a SchoolGrade of A: 56% of students test proficient, against 55% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Walnut Creek on SchoolGrade
