The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Wilmington, CA
Wilmington is a city of 61,400 in Los Angeles County, about 19 miles south of downtown Los Angeles · Updated November 2026
Is Wilmington, CA safe?
Wilmington has more crime than most of the country: an overall CrimeGrade™ of C+, with more crime than the neighborhoods where 83% of Americans live. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, B- against C. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Wilmington run from B+ to F, so check the map below.
C+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 479 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
17% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Wilmington as a whole, and 83% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Wilmington scores 479.
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 Wilmington, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Wilmington, 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 Wilmington
Burglaries run high for a C-graded city. Wilmington has 5.6 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of a C-graded US city, the figure is 2.5.
Vehicle theft at about triple the US rate. Wilmington has 8.9 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Wilmington
High crime is widespread across Wilmington: 69% of residents live in areas graded D or F, and 13% in areas graded A or B. Grades across Wilmington run from B+ to F; every part of Wilmington has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.
13%18%69%
A or B 13%C 18%D or F 69%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Wilmington, the southwest side has the least crime and the center the most.
Crime rates and types in Wilmington
CrimeGrade™ estimates Wilmington has about 53 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 44% more than the US as a whole and 34% more 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.
Theft is the most common crime in Wilmington, about 32% of everything reported.
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 Wilmington compares with nearby cities
Wilmington has more crime than 8 of its 10 nearest cities. Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills have the least crime nearby.
Parking lots, density and walkability in Wilmington
Two things set Wilmington apart: it has 6.6 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 85% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft, and it runs high here.
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.6.6 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 99% 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.85% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 93% 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.C+ (46 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 90% of US city residents
Show all 6
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
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.2.6% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 90% 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 Wilmington: C- (28 of 100).10 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 85% 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 Wilmington
Crime costs Wilmington about $2,897 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, more than double 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 $180 million a year, or $2,926 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$13 million
$217
Rape
$1.4 million
$23
Robbery
$3.2 million
$53
Assault
$13 million
$209
Burglary
$3.1 million
$50
Theft
$5.3 million
$87
Vehicle theft
$8.4 million
$137
Arson
$370,000
$6
Vandalism
$2.3 million
$38
Total
$50 million
$818
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 Wilmington 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
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 Wilmington, CA average a SchoolGrade of C: 34% of students test proficient, against 29% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Wilmington on SchoolGrade
