San Mateo is a city of 104,900 in San Mateo County, about 17 miles south of downtown San Francisco · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in San Mateo?
Violent crime in San Mateo sits near the national middle: an A-, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 58% of Americans live. Assaults make up 86% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A-
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 825 of 1,000About as much violent crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
42% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than San Mateo as a whole, and 58% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. San Mateo scores 825.
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 San Mateo, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in San Mateo, 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 San Mateo
One part of San Mateo stands out for aggravated assault. Aggravated assaults in East San Mateo & Downtown San Mateo, in north San Mateo, run at about double the rate in the rest of the city.
Simple assaults are uncommon. San Mateo has simple assaults at about half the US rate: 5.3 a year per 1,000 residents, against 9.7 nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in San Mateo
Every part of San Mateo where people live grades A or B for violent crime on the national scale. Violent crime grades across San Mateo run from A+ to B-.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Western Hills & Baywood Park, southwestSimple assaults run at less than half the rate in the rest of San Mateo.A+930
2Beresford, southSimple assaults run about 30% lower here than in the rest of San Mateo.A887
3Baywood-Aragon, westSimple assaults run about 40% lower here than in the rest of San Mateo.A875
4Marina Lagoon & Shoreview, eastAggravated assaults run about 30% lower here than in the rest of San Mateo.A861
5Haywood Park, centralClose to the rest of San Mateo on most crimes.A-841
6Hillsdale & Sugerloaf, southeastRobberies run about 70% higher here than in the rest of San Mateo.A-804
7North Central San Francisco, northwestAggravated assaults run about 50% higher here than in the rest of San Mateo.A-774
Neighborhood areas of San Mateo, 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 San Mateo?
Reported violent crime in San Mateo has held about steady since 2019, within 8%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.6 to 2.4 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 30%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
San MateoUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves San Mateo. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, San Mateo
Violent, US
2016
-9%
+4%
2017
+0%
+4%
2018
+6%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+1%
+4%
2021
+14%
+6%
2022
+16%
+5%
2023
+31%
+2%
2024
-8%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in San Mateo
CrimeGrade™ estimates San Mateo has about 7.7 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 43% less than the US as a whole and 36% 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 San Mateo, about 86% 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 San Mateo
San Mateo has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In San Mateo, 41% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often at stores and businesses: 41% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Stores and businesses (41%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (41%)
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 San Mateo and nearby cities
San Mateo has more violent crime than 6 of its 9 nearest cities. Millbrae and Foster City have the least violent crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from San Mateo. 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, San Mateo is safer than 69% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set San Mateo apart: it has 70% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and a Walk Grade of C+ (44 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.70% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 90% 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+ (44 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 89% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.52 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 66% of US city residents
Show all 4
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for San Mateo: C- (26 of 100).1 trips an hourUS: noneLower than for 55% 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 San Mateo
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs San Mateo about $76 million a year, or $723 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $17 million, or $165 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
$5.1 million
$48
Rape
$1.7 million
$16
Robbery
$2.6 million
$25
Assault
$7.9 million
$76
Total
$17 million
$165
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.
