South San Francisco, CA Violent Crime Rates and Maps
South San Francisco is a city of 64,000 in San Mateo County, about 9 miles south of downtown San Francisco · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in South San Francisco?
South San Francisco earns an A for violent crime, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 51% of Americans live. Assaults make up 93% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 856 of 1,000About as much violent crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
49% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than South San Francisco as a whole, and 51% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. South San Francisco scores 856.
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 South San Francisco, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in South San Francisco, 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
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in South San Francisco
Every part of South San Francisco where people live grades A or B for violent crime on the national scale. Violent crime grades across South San Francisco run from A to B+.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Westborough, southwestAggravated assaults run about 40% lower here than in the rest of South San Francisco.A888
2Winston Manor, northwestAggravated assaults run about 30% lower here than in the rest of South San Francisco.A880
3Serra Highlands, westClose to the rest of South San Francisco on most crimes.A875
4Paradise Valley, northeastClose to the rest of South San Francisco on most crimes.A854
5Sunshine Gardens & Sign Hill, northClose to the rest of South San Francisco on most crimes.A-846
6El Camino, southClose to the rest of South San Francisco on most crimes.A-837
7Downtown South San Francisco, eastAggravated assaults run about 60% higher here than in the rest of South San Francisco.A-812
8Orange Park & Lindenville, centralSimple assaults run about 50% higher here than in the rest of South San Francisco.A-801
Neighborhood areas of South San Francisco, 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 South San Francisco?
Reported violent crime in South San Francisco has risen 16% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.5 to 2.9 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 20%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
South San FranciscoUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves South San Francisco. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, South San Francisco
Violent, US
2016
-10%
+4%
2017
+40%
+4%
2018
+9%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-5%
+4%
2021
+35%
+6%
2022
+52%
+5%
2023
+44%
+2%
2024
+16%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in South San Francisco
CrimeGrade™ estimates South San Francisco has about 10 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 24% less than the US as a whole and close to 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 South San Francisco, about 93% 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 South San Francisco
South San Francisco has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In South San Francisco, 35% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often at stores and businesses: 39% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Stores and businesses (39%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (35%)
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 South San Francisco and nearby cities
South San Francisco has more violent crime than 5 of its 9 nearest cities. Millbrae and Pedro Valley have the least violent crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from South San Francisco. 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, South San Francisco is safer than 76% of them.
Jobs, density and walkability in South San Francisco
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set South San Francisco apart: it has 113 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 72% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report more robbery; here robbery sits near the national middle.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.113 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 98% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.72% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 91% 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 (38 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 87% 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 South San Francisco: C- (28 of 100).2 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 54% 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 South San Francisco
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs South San Francisco about $47 million a year, or $740 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $11 million, or $177 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 76% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.8 million
$28
Rape
$990,000
$15
Robbery
$860,000
$14
Assault
$7.7 million
$120
Total
$11 million
$177
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.
