Chula Vista is a city of 272,200 in San Diego County, about 10 miles southeast of downtown San Diego · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Chula Vista?
Violent crime in Chula Vista runs higher than in most US neighborhoods: an A-, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 61% of Americans live. Assaults make up 88% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A-
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 806 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
39% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Chula Vista as a whole, and 61% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Chula Vista scores 806.
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 violent crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its violent crime with the people who spend time there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy downtown or nightlife strip can show red while the homes around it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Chula Vista, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Chula 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 about violent crime in Chula Vista
One part of Chula Vista stands out for aggravated assault. Aggravated assaults in Downtown Chula Vista, in northwest Chula Vista, run at more than double the rate in the rest of the city.
Robberies happen at stores and businesses more often than nationally. In Chula Vista, 49% of reported robberies happen at stores and businesses, against 33% nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Chula Vista
Low violent crime is the norm across Chula Vista: 96% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Violent crime grades across Chula Vista run from A+ to C-.
96%
A or B 96%C 4%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
2Rancho del Rey & Terra Nova, northAggravated assaults run at less than half the rate in the rest of Chula Vista.A903
3Otay Ranch, eastAggravated assaults run at less than half the rate in the rest of Chula Vista.A896
4Lynwood Hills & Paseo Ranchoero, centralAggravated assaults run at about half the rate in the rest of Chula Vista.A893
5Sunbow & Otay Mesa West, southAggravated assaults run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Chula Vista.A875
6Boal, southwestAggravated assaults run at about double the rate in the rest of Chula Vista.B686
7Downtown Chula Vista, northwestSimple assaults run at more than double the rate in the rest of Chula Vista.B624
Neighborhood areas of Chula Vista, ranked by violent crime 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 violent crime going up in Chula Vista?
Reported violent crime in Chula Vista has risen 11% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.3 to 3.7 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). Violent crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Chula VistaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Chula Vista. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Chula Vista
Violent, US
2016
-21%
+4%
2017
-9%
+4%
2018
-7%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-0%
+4%
2021
+3%
+6%
2022
+7%
+5%
2023
+7%
+2%
2024
+11%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Chula Vista
CrimeGrade™ estimates Chula Vista has about 8.6 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 36% less than the US as a whole and 29% less than California.
All violent crime
Assaults
Robbery
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Violent crime here includes simple assaults, which the FBI's violent crime rate leaves out.
Assault is the most common violent crime in Chula Vista, about 88% of the total.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a violent crime with the people who spend time in an area, not only the people who live there. 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 violent crime happens in Chula Vista
Chula Vista has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Chula Vista, 40% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Stores and businesses (49%)
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.
Violent crime in Chula Vista and nearby cities
Chula Vista has less violent crime than 8 of its 10 nearest cities; only Coronado and Bonita have less.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Chula Vista. Beside each violent crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Chula Vista is safer than 64% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Chula Vista apart: it has 55% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and 27 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places where many residents live in dense blocks tend to report more robbery, and it runs high here.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.55% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 85% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Chula Vista: D+ (22 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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 assault. 72% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (23 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 69% of US city residents
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.27 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 77% 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 violent crime costs Chula Vista
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Chula Vista about $216 million a year, or $794 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $49 million, or $181 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 77% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$8.1 million
$30
Rape
$3.3 million
$12
Robbery
$7.0 million
$26
Assault
$31 million
$113
Total
$49 million
$181
How CrimeGrade™ works
The violent crime CrimeGrade™ covers murder, rape, robbery and assault, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each violent crime against the people who spend time in an area, so a busy downtown is graded on its workers and visitors as well as its residents.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them. Chula Vista is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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.
