Oakland is the eighth-largest city in California, with 411,400 residents in Alameda County, about 11 miles east of downtown San Francisco · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Oakland?
Oakland grades F for violent crime, with more of it than the neighborhoods where 96% of Americans live. Assaults make up 76% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
F
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000More violent crime than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
4% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Oakland as a whole, and 96% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Oakland 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 Oakland, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Oakland, 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 Oakland
One part of Oakland stands out for robbery. Robberies in Lynn-Highland Park, Dimond & Fruitvale Station, in central Oakland, run at more than double the rate in the rest of the city.
Aggravated assault at more than triple the US rate. Oakland has 11.7 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Oakland
Violent crime varies widely across Oakland: 21% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 72% in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Oakland run from A+ to F.
21%72%
A or B 21%C 7%D or F 72%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Piedmont Pines & Forestland, northeastSimple assaults run at a small fraction of the rate in the rest of Oakland.A858
7Melrose, southAggravated assaults run about 50% higher here than in the rest of Oakland.F0
8Eastmont, Seminary & Castlemont, southeastAggravated assaults run at more than double the rate in the rest of Oakland.F0
Neighborhood areas of Oakland, 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 Oakland?
Reported violent crime in Oakland has risen 45% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 13 to 19 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 46%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
OaklandUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Oakland. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Oakland
Violent, US
2016
+10%
+4%
2017
+0%
+4%
2018
-0%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-2%
+4%
2021
+9%
+6%
2022
+14%
+5%
2023
+170%
+2%
2024
+45%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Oakland
CrimeGrade™ estimates Oakland has about 33 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and more than double the rate for 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 Oakland, about 76% 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 Oakland and nearby cities
Oakland has the most violent crime of its 8 nearest cities.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Oakland apart: it has 80% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and a Walk Grade of B- (52 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.80% 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 assault.B- (52 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 92% 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 Oakland: C (34 of 100).24 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 92% of US city residents
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.51 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 64% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Oakland 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 Oakland
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Oakland about $2.06 billion a year, or $4,998 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $424 million, or $1,031 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 79% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$141 million
$342
Rape
$17 million
$41
Robbery
$89 million
$216
Assault
$177 million
$431
Total
$424 million
$1,031
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
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.
