California Violent Crime Rates and Maps

Overall Crime Grade™

Violent Crime Grade	D
Property Crime Grade	D+
Other Crime Grade	A

Which crimes are included?

$10.7 billion

Cost of Crime™ for California

In 2025, violent crime will cost $798 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of California with the least violent crime and red marks the most, weighted by the type and severity of each offense. Violent crime concentrates where people gather after dark, near nightlife, bars, and transit, more than on residential streets. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read those hot spots.

The D grade reflects how often assault, robbery, rape, and murder occur in California against the average US state, where the rate is higher than the norm. California sits in the 20th percentile for violent-crime safety, ahead of 20% of states and behind 80%. The grade covers only California's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby states.

The violent crime rate in California is 4.962 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the west part of the state the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 145 in the south cities to 1 in 246 in the west.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the southeast parts of California report the most violent crime, about 61,581 cases per year. The northeast part reports the fewest, around 0 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in California

The tangible cost of violent crime in California is projected at $10,683,044,957 for 2025, about $264 per resident and $798 per household. That equals 0.5% of the median household income, and it counts only the bills that can be totaled: emergency care, lost wages, and the justice response. The larger cost, the harm to victims, comes later on this page. These tangible costs split into:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 44.0%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 42.2%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 13.7%

How Much Does Violent Crime Cost in California Compared to Other States?

California:	$264
New Mexico:	$479
Rhode Island:	$114
USA:	$258

The tangible cost of violent crime is $264 per resident each year in California, which is $6 more than the national average. The comparison below uses states similar to California:

In New Mexico, crime costs $479 per person, which is $215 more than in California.
In Rhode Island, crime costs $114 per person, which is $150 less than in California

2025 Projected Violent Crime Cost by Type

The table below breaks the violent-crime total into its four offenses for California, with the projected cost per resident.

Crime	Cost to California	Cost per California Resident
Murder	$4.2 billion	$105
Rape/Sexual Assault	$1.2 billion	$29
Robbery	$1.5 billion	$38
Assault	$3.7 billion	$93
Total Cost of Violent Crime	$10,683,044,957	$264

The Human Cost of Violent Crime in California

Much of what violent crime costs never reaches a bill. Pain, trauma, and lost quality of life for victims and their families typically outweigh the medical and legal totals above. Research-based methods put a figure on that harm so it can be compared across places. By those methods, the human cost of violent crime in California totals $35,531,456,548 ($879 per resident). Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $46,214,501,505 ($1,143 per resident). This human toll is what sets violent crime apart from property crime in California, where the loss is mostly replaceable property. All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Violent Crime Maps

Violent crime rates are measured per resident, so places packed with visitors after dark read high even when few people live there. Bars, clubs, event venues, and transit hubs draw the crowds where assaults and robberies cluster. How strongly this shows on the map depends on the commercial base; the southeast part of the state has more retail establishments. A red block full of bars and venues does not mean the homes around it are dangerous.

Transit stations show the same effect: large moving crowds, few residents, so per-capita violent crime reads high. Major airports, of which California has 13, are the extreme case. Before judging a residential street, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total count of incidents, and note what draws crowds nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in California at ISP Reports.

California Violent Crime Breakdown

The table below shows which offenses feed the Violent Crime Grade above, each as crimes per 1,000 California residents in a standard year.

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	3.228
Robbery	1.197
Rape	0.4814
Murder	0.0557
Total Violent Crime	4.962 (D)

Individual California Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby States

Compared to surrounding states, the rate of violent crime in California is higher. The table below shows Crime Grades for states close to California.

Nearby State	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Nevada	D	D	D-
Arizona	B-	C	C+
Utah	C-	B	C
Oregon	D-	C+	D-
Idaho	A-	B	A+
New Mexico	F	F	D-
Washington	D-	C	F
Colorado	F	D-	F
Wyoming	B+	A	A
Montana	C-	D+	C-

Crime Maps and Rates for State with Similar Populations

California is higher versus other states of the same size for violent crime. The table below compares crime in states with comparable overall population in the state‘s boundaries.

Similar State	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Alaska	C+	F	F
Hawaii	B	A	A
Puerto Rico	F	F	F
Arkansas	D-	D-	D-
Florida	A+	A-	A-
Louisiana	D+	D-	D-
Maine	A	A+	A+
Massachusetts	A+	C+	C+
Minnesota	C	B	B
Montana	C-	D+	D+

Considering only the violent crime rate, California is as safe as the national average.

About the Data

CrimeGrade.org provides highly detailed and accurate crime data, used by insurance companies, home security firms, and other industries. Our data is available for licensing—learn more about our USA crime data and licensing.

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All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.