South Whittier is an unincorporated community of 57,100 in Los Angeles County, about 15 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in South Whittier?
Violent crime is high in South Whittier: a B, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 76% of Americans live. Assaults make up 88% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
B
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 679 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
24% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than South Whittier as a whole, and 76% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. South Whittier scores 679.
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 Whittier, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in South Whittier, 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 South Whittier
Simple assaults are uncommon. South Whittier has simple assaults at about half the US rate: 4.6 a year per 1,000 residents, against 9.7 nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in South Whittier
Low violent crime is the norm across South Whittier: 96% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Violent crime grades across South Whittier run from A- to C+.
96%
A or B 96%C 4%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Violent crime rates and types in South Whittier
CrimeGrade™ estimates South Whittier has about 8.3 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 38% less than the US as a whole and 31% 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 South Whittier, about 88% 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 South Whittier and nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to South Whittier, 6 have less violent crime. Cerritos and La Mirada have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from South Whittier. 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 Whittier has more violent crime than 61% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set South Whittier apart: it has 16 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 74% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places with few jobs tend to report less robbery, yet robbery runs higher here than that would suggest.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.16 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 92% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.74% 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. 79% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (21 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 63% 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 Whittier: C- (26 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 Whittier
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs South Whittier about $62 million a year, or $1,090 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $13 million, or $219 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 80% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$4.1 million
$71
Rape
$880,000
$15
Robbery
$1.2 million
$22
Assault
$6.3 million
$110
Total
$13 million
$219
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. South Whittier is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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.
