Palo Alto is a city of 67,400 in Santa Clara County, about 15 miles northwest of downtown San Jose · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Palo Alto?
Palo Alto earns an A for violent crime, safer than the neighborhoods where 67% of Americans live. Assaults make up 81% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 913 of 1,000Less violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
67% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Palo Alto as a whole, and 33% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Palo Alto scores 913.
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 Palo Alto, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Palo Alto, 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 Palo Alto
Simple assault runs low. Palo Alto has 2.9 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, less than half the US rate of 9.7.
Robberies happen at stores and businesses more often than nationally. In Palo Alto, 56% of reported robberies happen at stores and businesses, against 33% nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Palo Alto
Every part of Palo Alto where people live grades A or B for violent crime on the national scale. Violent crime grades across Palo Alto run from A+ to A.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1College Terrace, southwestClose to the rest of Palo Alto on most crimes.A+947
2Barron Park, southSimple assaults run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Palo Alto.A+933
3Duveneck-Saint Francis & Community Center, northClose to the rest of Palo Alto on most crimes.A915
Neighborhood areas of Palo Alto, 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 Palo Alto?
Reported violent crime in Palo Alto has risen 60% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.3 to 2.0 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). Violent crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Palo AltoUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Palo Alto. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Palo Alto
Violent, US
2016
-16%
+4%
2017
+3%
+4%
2018
-17%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-7%
+4%
2021
+35%
+6%
2022
+63%
+5%
2023
+61%
+2%
2024
+60%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Palo Alto
CrimeGrade™ estimates Palo Alto has about 5.2 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 61% less than the US as a whole and 57% 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 Palo Alto, about 81% 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 Palo Alto
Palo Alto has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Palo Alto, 29% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Stores and businesses (56%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (29%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Violent crime in Palo Alto and nearby cities
Palo Alto has less violent crime than 7 of its 10 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Palo Alto. 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, Palo Alto is safer than 84% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Palo Alto apart: it has 164 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 16 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places with both tend to report more robbery than places with only one of them; here robbery sits near the national middle.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.164 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 99% 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 Palo Alto: C- (26 of 100).16 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 89% 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. 62% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (31 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 82% of US city residents
Show all 4
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.42% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 78% 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 Palo Alto
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Palo Alto about $38 million a year, or $569 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $8.4 million, or $124 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 78% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.8 million
$26
Rape
$1.5 million
$23
Robbery
$1.2 million
$18
Assault
$3.8 million
$57
Total
$8.4 million
$124
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.
