46 Safest Cities in California (2023 FBI Crime Data)
These are the 46 safest cities in California, ranked by per-capita crime rate using 2023 FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data.California has a statewide violent crime rate of 469.5 per 100,000 residents. The safest city in California is Modesto with a Safety Context Score of 82/100. All rates are per 100,000 residents, never raw counts.
| # | City | Population | Violent/100K | Property/100K | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Modesto | 218K | 191 | 1,347 | A (82) |
| 2 | Pasadena | 139K | 172.8 | 1,567 | A (82) |
| 3 | Vallejo | 122K | 172.8 | 1,915 | A (80) |
| 4 | Visalia | 141K | 172.8 | 1,915 | A (80) |
| 5 | Stockton | 321K | 225.4 | 1,462 | B (76) |
| 6 | Lancaster | 174K | 203.9 | 1,671 | B (75) |
| 7 | Pomona | 151K | 437.2 | 1,410 | B (72) |
| 8 | San Jose | 1.0M | 253.1 | 2,044 | B (71) |
| 9 | Riverside | 315K | 236.8 | 2,270 | B (69) |
| 10 | Irvine | 308K | 236.8 | 2,270 | B (69) |
| 11 | Chula Vista | 275K | 477.5 | 1,924 | B (69) |
| 12 | Bakersfield | 403K | 494.7 | 1,597 | B (67) |
| 13 | Rancho Cucamonga | 178K | 447.6 | 2,141 | B (66) |
| 14 | Escondido | 151K | 468.3 | 1,514 | B (66) |
| 15 | Garden Grove | 173K | 587.5 | 1,219 | B (65) |
| 16 | Santa Rosa | 178K | 483.9 | 1,219 | B (65) |
| 17 | Elk Grove | 176K | 468.3 | 1,863 | C (64) |
| 18 | San Francisco | 874K | 435.1 | 1,812 | C (62) |
| 19 | Torrance | 144K | 260.9 | 2,211 | C (62) |
| 20 | Oceanside | 176K | 597.9 | 1,601 | C (61) |
| 21 | Sunnyvale | 156K | 276.5 | 1,915 | C (61) |
| 22 | San Bernardino | 222K | 626.5 | 2,424 | C (60) |
| 23 | Moreno Valley | 212K | 288.4 | 2,443 | C (60) |
| 24 | Clovis | 120K | 499.4 | 1,619 | C (60) |
| 25 | Los Angeles | 4.0M | 441.4 | 2,255 | C (59) |
| 26 | Long Beach | 467K | 322.8 | 1,789 | C (58) |
| 27 | Oakland | 433K | 311.3 | 2,136 | C (58) |
| 28 | Fremont | 231K | 431.6 | 1,770 | C (58) |
| 29 | Anaheim | 350K | 569.2 | 1,462 | C (56) |
| 30 | Roseville | 148K | 629 | 1,358 | C (56) |
| 31 | Victorville | 135K | 525.3 | 1,358 | C (56) |
| 32 | Sacramento | 525K | 598.3 | 1,939 | C (55) |
| 33 | Hayward | 163K | 634.2 | 1,375 | C (55) |
| 34 | Palmdale | 169K | 634.2 | 1,723 | C (53) |
| 35 | Ontario | 175K | 530.5 | 2,071 | C (52) |
| 36 | San Diego | 1.4M | 736.3 | 2,402 | C (50) |
| 37 | Fresno | 542K | 635.9 | 2,065 | D (49) |
| 38 | Fontana | 215K | 706.7 | 1,924 | D (49) |
| 39 | Santa Ana | 309K | 597.8 | 1,943 | D (48) |
| 40 | Santa Clarita | 229K | 712.4 | 1,943 | D (48) |
| 41 | Oxnard | 202K | 586.4 | 2,290 | D (48) |
| 42 | Concord | 129K | 654.9 | 2,141 | D (47) |
| 43 | Thousand Oaks | 127K | 660.1 | 2,158 | D (46) |
| 44 | Corona | 157K | 675.7 | 2,211 | D (43) |
| 45 | Simi Valley | 127K | 675.7 | 2,211 | D (43) |
| 46 | Murrieta | 113K | 680.9 | 2,228 | D (42) |
All rates per 100,000 residents. Source: FBI UCR 2023.
Crime statistics for California cities are derived from FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data. All figures represent per-capita rates per 100,000 residents, not raw counts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Based on FBI crime data and our Safety Context Score, Modesto is the safest city in California with a score of 82/100 (Grade A), a violent crime rate of 191 per 100,000, and a property crime rate of 1,347 per 100,000.
Cities are ranked using our Safety Context Score (0-100), which weighs violent crime rate vs. national average (40%), property crime rate vs. national average (30%), and 5-year trend direction (30%). All rates are per 100,000 residents, never raw counts.
Crime in California has increased 0.0% over the past 5 years based on FBI data.
Safety Context Score: violent crime vs. national average (40%), property crime vs. national average (30%), 5-year trend (30%). All rates per 100,000 residents.
The this entity category groups every U.S. city and county crime rates entity sharing this attribute. The list above is the data; the paragraphs below explain what the grouping means against the broader the FBI UCR/NIBRS dataset distribution and how to read the relative rankings within the category.
For readers using this category as a starting point, the per-entity detail pages linked from the table above carry the underlying the FBI UCR/NIBRS dataset data in full. The category-level view is the filter; the per-entity pages are the actual answer.
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, 2026.