Compton is a city of 98,300 in Los Angeles County, about 11 miles south of downtown Los Angeles · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Compton?
Compton grades F for violent crime, with more of it than the neighborhoods where 95% of Americans live. Assaults make up 79% of it, most of them aggravated assaults, which involve a weapon or a serious injury.
F
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000More violent crime than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
5% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Compton as a whole, and 95% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Compton scores 0.
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 Compton, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Compton, 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 Compton
Robberies run high. Compton has robberies at more than triple the US rate: 3.3 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Compton
High violent crime is widespread across Compton: 94% of residents live in areas graded D or F, and 4% in areas graded A or B. Violent crime grades across Compton run from B to F.
94%
A or B 4%C 2%D or F 94%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Rancho Dominguez, southRobberies run at less than half the rate in the rest of Compton.C-351
2North West Long Beach, southeastRobberies run at about half the rate in the rest of Compton.D+291
3West Rancho Domingues, westRobberies run about 80% higher here than in the rest of Compton.F0
Neighborhood areas of Compton, 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 Compton?
Reported violent crime in Compton has held about steady since 2019, within 8%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 12 to 13 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). Violent crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
ComptonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Compton. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Compton
Violent, US
2016
-0%
+4%
2017
+4%
+4%
2018
+5%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+2%
+4%
2021
+7%
+6%
2022
-2%
+5%
2023
+1%
+2%
2024
+8%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Compton
CrimeGrade™ estimates Compton has about 18 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 37% more than the US as a whole and 53% more 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 Compton, about 79% 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.
Violent crime in Compton and nearby cities
Compton has more violent crime than 6 of its 10 nearest cities. Paramount and Carson have the least violent crime nearby.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Compton apart: it has 86% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and a Walk Grade of C (35 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that 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.86% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 94% 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.C (35 of 100)US: 21Higher 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 Compton: C- (30 of 100).6 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 76% of US city residents
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.46 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 55% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Compton 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 violent crime costs Compton
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Compton about $411 million a year, or $4,182 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $75 million, or $764 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 82% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$35 million
$357
Rape
$2.2 million
$23
Robbery
$10 million
$102
Assault
$28 million
$281
Total
$75 million
$764
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.
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.
