California is one of the largest states in the country, with a diverse economy and a wide range of communities.
But, as in any large, densely populated state, areas of California face public safety challenges. Crime rates vary significantly across the state, and in certain cities, elevated levels of violent and property crime present ongoing risks for residents, businesses, and visitors alike.
Based on research findings, news reports, available statistics, and community perspectives, these are the most dangerous cities in California.
Dangerous California Cities Overview
| City | County | Crime Rate (Per 1000 residents) | Major Concerns |
| Oakland | Alameda | 91.10 | High violent crime, vehicle theft, and frequent carjacking |
| Fresno | Fresno | 40.88 | Gun violence tied to gangs and concentrated disadvantage |
| Stockton | San Joaquin | 37.97 | Gang activity and elevated robbery and firearm-related crime |
| Compton | Los Angeles | 43.53 | Gang influence, assaults, robberies, and street takeover incidents |
| San Bernardino | San Bernardino | 39.43 | High property crime and persistent violent crime rates |
| Emeryville | Alameda | 135.35 | Extremely high property crime, especially theft and break-ins |
| Vallejo | Solano | 46.71 | Gun violence, shootings, and strained police capacity |
| Berkley | Alameda | 65.67 | High burglary rates and other property crime occurrences |
| Richmond | Contra Costa | 37.10 | Assault-driven violent crime and recurring gun incidents |
| Modesto | Stanislaus | 31.15 | High levels of violent crime, including a history of high homicide rates |
1. Oakland
Population: 444.8K
County: Alameda
Total crime rate (per 1,000 residents): 91.10
Oakland’s crime rate stands far above most of California’s cities. In 2012, the city recorded 8,587 total crimes per 100,000 residents, compared to a statewide average of 3,182.
By 2023, its overall crime rate had climbed 86% since 2003, with violent crime up 150% and property crime up 72% over the same period.
For context, San Francisco’s overall crime rose just 2% over the same stretch, while San Jose’s actually fell 12%.
- Robbery rates, after declining for several years, more than doubled between 2000 and 2012.
- Carjackings occur 2 – 3 times more frequently than in comparable cities. Between 2005 and 2007, Oakland recorded 884 carjackings vs. 334 in San Francisco, despite San Francisco having roughly twice the population.
- In 2023, Oakland saw its highest number of car thefts in over 20 years, with approximately one stolen car for every 27 residents.
Several factors have contributed to Oakland’s rise in crime, with police understaffing standing out as one of the largest concerns.
Detective caseloads are heavier than in any other major California city except Fresno, and the department has consistently posted the lowest homicide clearance rate among large California cities, meaning a large share of murders go unsolved.
In 2021, the City Council voted to redirect $17.4 million from the Oakland Police Department to the Department of Violence Prevention. Mayor Libby Schaaf warned that the move would cost the city 50 officers and make the city less safe for both residents and police. While crime had already been rising before the budget shift, the decision intensified concerns over staffing shortages and reduced enforcement capacity.
Recent Drops in Crime Rates
Oakland remains one of California’s most dangerous cities, but recent data suggests the city may be seeing a measurable turnaround in violent crime trends.
Even President Donald Trump had criticized Oakland. “And then you have, of course, Baltimore and Oakland,” he said. “They’re so far gone. We don’t even talk about that anymore.”
But, in the face of this criticism, Oakland was recording one of the most dramatic drops in violent crime in its history. The city ended 2025 with 67 homicides, which is exactly half the 134 recorded at the 2021 peak, and the lowest violent death toll in 25 years.
Robberies also fell to 1,674, which is a nearly 50% decrease from 2024.
There are several possible factors behind the recent decline. According to The Oaklandside, targeted policing strategies and focused deterrence efforts, where resources are concentrated on those most likely to be involved in violence, have been a key driver in reducing homicides and shootings.
The “Rise East” initiative has also committed $100 million to housing, public safety, education, workforce development, and community investment in East Oakland.
With these efforts, Oakland may be entering a period of sustained crime reduction, but the city’s future safety outlook is still uncertain.
2. Fresno
Population: 553.8K
County: Fresno
Total crime rate (per 1,000 residents): 40.88
Fresno continues to rank among California’s higher-risk cities for violent crime. Residents face about a 1 in 135 chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime, compared to 1 in 206 across the state.
Fresno recorded 22 homicides in 2025, the lowest level in 51 years and represtening a 70% drop from 2020 and a 27% decline from 2024. Police have also reported recovering more than 1,500 firearms from the streets and solving over 100% of homicide cases, including those from prior years.
Despite this progress, violence has not disappeared, with six homicides reported in March 2026 alone.
Gun violence in the city is often tied to deeper social issues. Local reporters point to long-term segregation, concentrated poverty, and a lack of investment in certain neighborhoods, along with education gaps that leave many young people less prepared for work and stable opportunities as they move into adulthood.
Gang activity is also common across Fresno, and one of the most well-known groups in the region is the Fresno Bulldogs, a large street and prison gang with ties across Central California. The group has been associated with drug trafficking and other criminal activity and has been involved in long-running conflicts with rival organizations.
3. Stockton
Population: 327K
County: San Joaquin
Total crime rate (per 1,000 residents): 37.97
Stockton is another dangerous city in California, with a violent crime rate of 11.38 per 1,000 residents and a property crime rate of 26.59, which far exceeds Los Angeles, where those figures sit at 7.20 and 14.87, respectively. The city’s robbery rate of 3.34 per 1,000 residents is also more than five times the national rate of 0.61.
While homicides and auto theft declined between 2024 and 2025, rape and arson rose, and many other crime categories remained well above state averages.
In 2026, Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi called on the federal government to help combat gang violence after a mass shooting at a children’s birthday party. By her own count, there are roughly 5,000 gang members across 100 gangs. Fugazi said Stockton has seized 752 illegal guns off the street during 2025, and has proposed an anti-crime and human-development program called The Community Impact Program that brings appropriate resources from across federal departments directly into Stockton.
City officials have launched several initiatives in response to the high crime levels, including the Stockton Crime Stoppers program, which pays rewards to anonymous tipsters whose leads result in an arrest, and the “See Something, Say Something” campaign, which aims to encourage residents to report crimes to authorities.
4. Compton
Population: 89K
County: Los Angeles
Total crime rate (per 1,000 residents): 43.53
Compton has reputation for violence and instability, which is largely tied to decades of gang activity and strained law enforcement resources. While crime has improved compared to its peak in the 1980s and 1990s, the city still struggles with serious public safety concerns.
Robbery and assault rates remain far above the national rate, with robbery at 3.46 compared to 0.61 nationally, and assault at 8.52 compared to 2.56. Property crime is also slightly above the California median.
The city’s crime problems grew sharply after the 1965 Watts riots, which triggered middle-class flight and increased instability. By 1969, Compton reportedly had the highest crime rate in California, and then during the 1970s and 1980s, gangs like the Bloods and Crips turned Compton into a major center for gang violence and drug activity.
Compton’s image became nationally known through N.W.A and the album Straight Outta Compton, which portrayed violent street life and conflict with police. This album cemented the city in American culture as a symbol of urban violence and gang conflict.
Compton crime has declined substantially since the 1990s and early 2000s. Community efforts, demographic changes, improved emergency response times, and anti-gang initiatives have helped stabilize violence in many neighborhoods. Former mayor Aja Brown also worked to reduce gang conflicts during her administration in 2015.
However, street takeovers and large illegal gatherings have become common in parts of Compton in the 2020s, creating dangerous conditions involving reckless driving, looting, and violence. Law enforcement officials from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have publicly stated that staffing shortages sometimes leave deputies outnumbered during these incidents, limiting their ability to intervene safely. Authorities also reported spikes in robberies and burglaries after 2021.
5. San Bernardino
Population: 226.1K
County: San Bernardino
Total crime rate (per 1,000 residents): 39.43
Statistically, around 96% of cities in the United States are safer than San Bernardino. The city records a total crime rate of 39.43 per 1,000 residents, placing it among higher-crime cities in California. The city is less than a two-hour drive from downtown Los Angeles and was once a major stop along historic Route 66, but despite its scenic setting and historic significance, it has gained an unfavorable reputation for being dangerous.
Its murder rate is 0.11 per 1,000 residents, more than double the national rate of 0.05, and property crime rates are nearly double the country’s median.
Many of the city’s safety challenges are tied to long-term economic decline. High poverty rates, limited investment, and areas of concentrated disadvantage have contributed to persistent crime conditions across parts of the city.
6. Emeryville
Population: 14.4K
County: Alameda County
Total crime rate (per 1,000 residents): 135.35
Emeryville sits on the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay, a small but densely active city near Oakland, another city known for high levels of crime. Despite its size, it holds the distinction of having one of the highest total crime rates in California, at 135.35 per 1,000 residents.
Murder and rape rates sit near national rates, but robbery and aggravated assault are significantly elevated, at 7.40 and 3.74 per 1,000 residents, respectively. Property crime is where Emeryville stands apart most starkly at a rate of 123.99 per 1,000 residents, compared to California’s rate of 20.78.
Auto burglaries are a particularly common problem throughout the city.
Some reports have partly attributed the city’s high rate of vehicle break-ins and other property theft to Proposition 47, a California reform passed in 2014 that reclassified certain nonviolent offenses, including shoplifting and grand theft involving property valued under $950, from felonies to misdemeanors. Early studies conducted shortly after the measure passed were unable to establish a clear correlation between Proposition 47 and rising crime rates.
However, others argue that by reducing the legal consequences for theft below the $950 threshold, the reform may have lowered the perceived risk of opportunistic property crime, making ‘edge cities’ like Emeryville more attractive targets for repeat offenders who face little more than a citation if caught.
Crime has dropped roughly 20% year over year in 2024, and 2025 data shows further declines across most categories, with the exception of residential burglary and petty theft, which have continued to climb.
A note on Emeryville’s crime statistics: The city’s crime rate per 1,000 residents looks exceptionally high in part because its residential population, around 14,000, is tiny relative to the volume of people who pass through the city each day. With major shopping centers, entertainment venues, and easy highway access, the city’s daytime population is significantly higher.
According to 2024 Business Census data, Emeryville’s businesses alone employ around 34,500 people, nearly three times the residential population. Because crime rates are calculated against the residential population, even a moderate number of incidents produces a dramatically inflated figure.
7. Vallejo
Population: 122.2K
County: Solano
Total crime rate (per 1,000 residents): 46.71
Vallejo sits near Oakland and faces many of the same public safety challenges despite having far fewer police officers and resources.
Street gangs and disruptive groups remain central drivers of violence and escalating gun crime throughout the city. In 2020, 29 people were murdered in Vallejo, a 133% increase over 2019 and the city’s deadliest year since 1994.
The situation had grown severe enough that in 2023, the Vallejo City Council voted unanimously to declare a public safety emergency due to police staffing levels that had fallen to critical lows.
The relationship between the community and its police department has also been deeply strained. Vallejo’s officers have been involved in more shootings per arrest than 94% of departments nationwide. In 2012 alone, the city recorded six fatal officer-involved shootings, which is more than Oakland and San Francisco combined that year, despite being a fraction of their size.
8. Berkley
Population: 120.5K
County: Alameda
Total crime rate (per 1,000 residents): 65.67
Berkeley is widely known as a hub of academic life and progressive politics, but the city faces high crime rates that threaten its residents and students.
The city’s burglary rate stands at 6.89 per 1,000 residents, which is three times the national raTe of 2.29, and its theft rate of 39.70 is more than three times the national figure of 12.72.
Serious violent and property crimes increased across most major categories between 2022 and 2023, with particular spikes in pedestrian robberies and carjackings. However, Berkeley police analysts noted that these trends reflect patterns across the entire East Bay, especially in Oakland and Richmond.
Homicide numbers have remained relatively low, with four people killed in Berkeley in 2024, and the city recorded just one homicide in 2025, following a delivery van theft in Oakland. But property crime and street-level violence have been enough to prompt significant concern among residents and the university community.
Following a series of incidents near campus, including a fatal shooting just blocks away, in 2023, parents of UC Berkeley students launched a nonprofit called SafeBears to push for greater safety measures on and around campus. The nonprofit action was in part due to a
9. Richmond
Population: 114.9K
County: Contra Costa
Total crime rate (per 1,000 residents): 37.10
Richmond is a port city on the northeastern shore of San Francisco Bay that has built a reputation as underpoliced and crime-ridden. The city’s violent crime rate stands at 9.13, far above the California rate of 4.86. Assault is a major contributor, with a rate of 6.55, more than double the national rate.
Property crime sits lower than in many other dangerous cities in California, though violent offenses continue to account for a significant share of reported incidents.
After a severe wave of murders during the early 2000s, Richmond became one of the first California cities to create a dedicated gun violence prevention program. In 2007, the city launched the Office of Neighborhood Safety to reduce shootings through community intervention efforts, and the program has since been credited with helping lower homicide and gun violence rates over the past two decades.
10. Modesto
Population: 221.5K
County: Stanislaus
Total crime rate (per 1,000 residents): 31.15
Modesto, located in California’s Central Valley, has long been considered one of the state’s more dangerous mid-sized cities, with a robbery rate of 1.12, which is double that of the United States rate.
Public perception reflects ongoing safety concerns across the city, with one survey finding that 12% of respondents reported not feeling safe at all, while only 40% reported feeling somewhat safe.
Modesto struggled with high levels of violent crime for years. In 2015, the city recorded 25 homicides, placing it among California’s more violent cities. That number gradually declined over time, dropping to 20 in 2017 and 16 in both 2018 and 2020. By 2024, homicides had fallen to 7.
Fortunately, the city reached a major milestone in 2025 when Modesto police reported zero homicides for the first time in at least four decades. Officials credited the improvement to stronger policing strategies and training, alongside expanded use of technology, while warning that continued investment will be needed to maintain the city’s progress moving forward.
How Violent Crime Rates Are Calculated
Violent crime rates are calculated by dividing the total number of violent crimes by the population and then multiplying by a standard figure, often 100,000 or 1,000 residents. This helps make crime levels easier to compare across cities of different sizes.
(Total Violent Crimes ÷ Population) × standard population unit
Violent crimes generally include:
- Homicide
- Robbery
- Assault
- Rape
Property crime is usually measured separately, though some reports combine it with violent crime to give an overall crime rate. Property crime typically includes offenses such as burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft.
It is also worth noting that large cities naturally tend to report a higher total number of crimes because they have more residents.
A city with 5,000 violent crimes may appear more dangerous than one with 500, but if its population is significantly larger, its crime rate could actually be lower. That is why crime rates are generally more useful than raw crime totals when comparing public safety between cities.
Protecting Your Business and Property in California
Businesses can be seriously affected by high crime rates, especially property crime, as they can raise operating costs through repairs, replacement of stolen items, and higher insurance premiums, while disrupting daily operations and making it harder to maintain steady customer activity.
Whether your business is located in a high-crime area or a lower-risk city, you still need to be proactive against potential threats, including trespassing, vandalism, burglary, robbery, and theft.
At American Security Force, we provide security services and technologies, including surveillance, guard patrols, electronic access control, active monitoring and response, and more, to help protect your property.
Explore our full range of services or get in touch for a quote, and we’ll help you secure your assets, even across California’s most dangerous cities.
