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Crime Rate in California (2025)

The FBI-based Crime Index for 175 cities in California, plus the statewide average. Scores run 0–100 (higher = safer) and are built from FBI Crime Data Explorer reports for 2025.

64/100
CModerate risk

Crime Index

Population: 39,355,309
Data year: 2025 · FBI Crime Data Explorer
97% city-level coverage · updated July 8, 2026
Violent crime
434/100k
+38% vs US avg
Property crime
1,818/100k
+22% vs US avg
Homicide
3.5/100k
-15% vs US avg
Total reported
2,253/100k
+25% vs US avg

Crime trend in California

3,5141,7570202120222023202420255002,253
Reported crime per 100,000 residents · hover a year for detail

Reported crime by offense

Statewide rates per 100,000 residents vs the US average.

Each bar is scaled to the US average for that offense — the dashed line marks 1×. Bars past it run above the national norm; hover a row for detail.

Violent crime

Homicideanchor
-15% US
3.5
1,377 total
Rape
-4% US
33.9
13,345 total
Robbery
2.0× US
94.9
37,354 total
Aggravated assault
+33% US
302
118,900 total

Property crime

Burglary
+49% US
279
109,897 total
Larceny-theft
+10% US
1,203
473,620 total
Motor vehicle theft
1.7× US
317
124,790 total
Arson
2.0× US
18.6
7,330 total

How California compares

California against the US average for 2025.

MetricCaliforniaUnited States
Crime Index (higher = safer)64C73C
Violent crime /100k434315
Property crime /100k1,8181,487
Homicide /100k3.54.1
Total reported /100k2,2531,802

Grade shown per index band (88–100 = A … 0–29 = F). Rates are reported offenses per 100,000 residents.

Safest cities
Most dangerous cities
Biggest drop in crime
Encinitas-61%

Reported crime rate since 2021

Biggest rise in crime
Lodi+87%

Reported crime rate since 2024

All 175 cities in California

Ranked safest to most dangerous by Crime Index.

Showing 175 of 175

Protecting yourself in California

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Security guides for California

California Security Guard & Company License: Requirements & How to Verify (2026)

Hiring security in California? Here's who regulates it, what a company and its guards must be licensed to hold, how armed guards are permitted, and how to verify a license yourself in minutes.

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How Much Does a Security Guard Cost? (2026 US Pricing Guide)

Unarmed guards typically run $20–$35 an hour and armed guards $35–$75 — but the number on your quote is built from local wages, insurance, and coverage hours, and it varies by 50% across states. Here's how security pricing actually works in 2026, state by state, and how to avoid overpaying.

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How to Hire a Security Guard Company: A Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

Hiring security is easy to get wrong — the cheapest bid is often the riskiest. This step-by-step guide walks you through vetting a licensed company the right way, from license checks and state-by-state training standards to the questions that separate pros from pretenders.

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How to Verify a Security Company's License (State-by-State, 2026)

There is no federal security license in the US — every state runs its own registry, and a legitimate company must be in it. Here's exactly how to check, with a state-by-state table of licensing agencies, credentials, insurance minimums, and official lookups.

Read guide

No area has zero risk

A high Crime Index score means lower reported crime relative to other US cities — it is not a guarantee of safety. Reported crime is not the same as actual crime. Research on the gap between crime that occurs and crime that gets reported to police — often called the "dark figure" of crime — estimates that roughly 40% of violent crime and about a third of property crime go unreported each year. Every index built on official statistics, including this one, necessarily undercounts real crime. That gap is exactly why homicide — the offense with the smallest dark figure — anchors the calculation instead of a more commonly reported but less reliable category like theft.

Scores on this page reflect FBI-reported data for 2025. See the full methodology →

Safest cities in California
Most dangerous cities in California
Back to the national Crime Index