Is Bakersfield Safe To Visit? Everything You Need To Know (Crime Rates And Crime Stats)


If you are thinking about visiting Bakersfield and have some qualms about the safety of the city, we got you covered.

We are going to deep dive into the statistics, look at some maps, graphs and talk to the residents of the city to give you a better understanding of how safe Bakersfield really is.

Is Bakersfield Safe?

Looking at the crime statistics, Bakersfield is a safe place to visit. In 2019, Bakersfield had a violent crime rate of 467.29 per 100,000 people. Out of the 100 most populous cities in the United States, Bakersfield’s violent crime rate ranked 68th. Santa Ana, Riverside and Glendale (Arizona) all have similar crime rates as Bakersfield.

Is Bakersfield Safe

Bakersfield’s Population

The population for the Bakersfield in 2019 is 377,917

Bakersfield Crime Stats

Here’s a breakdown of all the crimes in Bakersfield for 2018 and 2019.

2018

2019

2018 vs 2019

Murder

31

34

+9.68%

Rape

113

116

+2.65%

Robbery

811

701

-13.56%

Aggravated Assault

940

915

-2.66%

Burglary

4,025

3,888

-3.40%

Larceny/Theft

9,295

9,277

-0.19%

Motor Vehicle Theft

2,777

2,909

+4.75%

Arson

275

470

+70.91%

TOTAL

18,267

18,310

+0.24%

*All data is from the FBI UCR

Bakersfield Violent Crime Rate

In 2019 Bakersfield reported 1,766 violent crimes and had a violent crime rate of 467.29 per 100,000 people. The national average for violent crime is 366.7 per 100,000 residents. Bakersfield’s violent crime rate is 27% higher than the national average.

*Violent crimes include; homicides, rape, robbery and aggravated assaults and the violent crime rate is calculated by dividing the number of reported crimes by the total population; the result is multiplied by 100,000.

Bakersfield Property Crime Rate

In 2019 Bakersfield reported 16,544 property crimes and had a property crime rate of 4,377.68 per 100,000 people. The national average for property crime is 2,109.9 per 100,000 residents. Bakersfield’s property crime rate is twice the national average.

Out of the 100 most populous cities in the United States, Bakersfield’s property crime rate ranked 32nd..

**Property crimes include; arson, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft are classified as property crimes. The property crime rate is calculated by dividing the number of reported crimes by the total population; the result is multiplied by 100,000.

Bakersfield Murder Stats

In 2019 Bakersfield reported 34 homicides, which gives it a murder rate of 9 per 100,000 residents. The national murder rate is 5 per 100,000 people. Bakersfield’s murder rate is 80% higher than the national average.

Out of the 100 most populous cities in the United States, Bakersfield’s murder rate ranked 40th.

To put it in perspective, St. Louis had a murder rate of 86.87 in 2020. Bakersfield’s murder rate is 9.65 times LESS than St. Louis.

In 2020, Bakersfield reported 45 homicides, which is a 32% increase over 2019.

Here’s a map showing you the locations of all the homicides for the city in 2020

bakersfield homicide map 2020

Bakersfield vs The Rest Of California

Here’s a table showing you violent crime rate and property crime rate of the top 20 most populous cities in the state of California.

Bakersfield’s violent crime rate of 467.29, places it in 10th place behind Riverside.

City

Population

Violent Crime Rate

Property Crime Rate

Stockton

313,604

1,396.67

3,943.51

San Bernardino

216,715

1,318.78

4,190.30

Oakland

434,036

1,271.78

6,420.67

Modesto

216,542

811.85

3,317.14

Los Angeles

4,015,546

732.15

2,383.34

San Francisco

886,007

669.63

5,505.60

Sacramento

513,934

627.12

3,182.12

Long Beach

467,974

506.22

2,414.02

Riverside

333,260

505.91

2,937.65

Bakersfield

388,080

467.29

4,377.68

San Jose

1,040,008

438.36

2,419.60

Santa Ana

333,664

436.6

2,040.38

San Diego

1,441,737

361.72

1,882.52

Fontana

215,883

342.32

1,433.18

Chula Vista

275,230

328.45

1,386.48

Anaheim

353,915

320.03

2,333.33

Fremont

240,887

166.05

1,877.64

Santa Clarita

218,103

127.00

944.05

Irvine

292,673

64.24

1,306.24

*All data is from the 2019 FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Datasets

Bakersfield vs The Most Dangerous Cities In The United States

Here’s a list of the top 10 most dangerous cities in the United States ranked by violent crime rate. It can give you some perspective on Bakersfield’s violent crime rate, which is 467.29 per 100,000 people.

Bakersfield’s violent crime rate is 5.17 times LESS than Memphis, the most dangerous city on the list.

City Population Number of violent crimes in 2020 Rate per 100,000 people
Memphis 633,104 15,310 2,418.24
Detroit 639,111 14,370 2,248.44
Baltimore 2,707,064 9,273 2,027.01
St. Louis 301,578 6,017 1,995.17
Little Rock 202,591 3,657 1,805.11
South Bend 103,453 1,765 1,706.09
Cleveland 372,624 6,281 1,685.61
Milwaukee 577,222 9,407 1,629.70
Kansas City 508,090 7,919 1,558.58
Lansing 112,644 1,699 1,508.29
Springfield 169,176 2,545 1,504.35

*All data is from the 2019 FBI Crime Stats Report**

Bakersfield’s Worst Neighborhoods

  • East Bakersfield
  • Union Ave
  • Cottonwood
  • Flower St
  • Oildale
  • Edison Hwy
  • Roberts Lane
  • Rosedale

What do residents of Bakersfield say about its safety

  1. "The northwest and southwest parts of town are probably the safest. As you move east, it gets slowly worse until the 99 and then the ball completely drops off. Although, it’s not as bad as everyone makes it out to be."
  2. "Stay west of the 99 and you will be good. I’ve lived in Rosedale for most of my life and never felt unsafe."
  3. "Many new residents think everything east of 99 is dangerous but that’s probably due to a mix of racial ignorance and less damning ignorance."
  4. "West side is safe. East side isn’t so safe."
  5. "In Bakersfield there are small pockets of ghetto, but overall east side is actually pretty cool if you don’t mind leaving the suburbs."
  6. "Union ave on the east side is where all the horrible things happen."
  7. "The east side of Bakersfield is not as bad as people make it out to be."
  8. "Most of the shootings take place anywhere east of Union."
  9. "Stick to west Bakersfield. The eastside has some good neighborhoods, but they’re surrounded in bad ones."
  10. "The actual hoods are cottonwood and some parts of downtown."
  11. "I lived on many areas of the eastside for most of my life. Certain parts can be rough, but not like Los Angeles or Detroit ghetto. You will know you are in a rough part of town when you see it, so there won’t be any surprises."
  12. "Stay west of the 99 if you want to avoid the riff raff."

Is Downtown Bakersfield Safe?

Downtown Bakersfield is safe to visit. You will find a lot of hip bars, restaurants and shops in the area.

Is Bakersfield safe at night?

Bakersfield can be a safe place to visit at night if you avoid going to the eastside of the city and specifically the areas mentioned above.

Is it safe to visit alone?

Bakersfield is a safe place to visit alone. You can mitigate your chances of becoming a victim if you learn the layout of the city, avoid the sketchy areas and follow the safety tips posted below.

Tips To Stay Safe In Bakersfield

  • Learn the layout of the city. Avoid going to the places where crime is high at nights (eastside).
  • Don’t leave valuables in your car. Bakersfield has a property crime problem.
  • Keep your gas tank filled. You don’t want to end up in the wrong part of town at night, searching for a gas station.
  • Always be aware of your surroundings. Don’t listen to music while waking around town and don’t scroll through your phone mindlessly.

Final Thoughts

Bakersfield is a safe place to visit. It’s violent crime rate is not alarming, however the city does suffers from a property crime problem.

You will be fine in most places in Bakersfield, but you should stay west of the 99 and avoid going to the eastside of the city at night.

Quick Facts About Bakersfield

Fact

Bakersfield, California

United States

Population, Census, April 1, 2020

403,455

331,449,281

Population, Census, April 1, 2010

347,483

308,745,538

White alone, percent

67.7%

76.3%

Black or African American alone, percent

7.6%

13.4%

American Indian and Alaska Native alone, percent

0.9%

1.3%

Asian alone, percent

7.4%

5.9%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, percent

0.2%

0.2%

Two or More Races, percent

3.8%

2.8%

Hispanic or Latino, percent

50.2%

18.5%

White alone, not Hispanic or Latino, percent

32.5%

60.1%

Foreign born persons, percent, 2015-2019

18.9%

13.6%

Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2015-2019

$247,000.00

$217,500.00

Median selected monthly owner costs -with a mortgage, 2015-2019

$1,696.00

$1,595.00

Median gross rent, 2015-2019

$1,104.00

$1,062.00

Language other than English spoken at home, percent of persons age 5 years+, 2015-2019

41.6%

21.6%

High school graduate or higher, percent of persons age 25 years+, 2015-2019

80.1%

88.0%

Bachelor’s degree or higher, percent of persons age 25 years+, 2015-2019

21.9%

32.1%

In civilian labor force, total, percent of population age 16 years+, 2015-2019

63.6%

63.0%

Median household income (in 2019 dollars), 2015-2019

$63,139.00

$62,843.00

Per capita income in past 12 months (in 2019 dollars), 2015-2019

$27,060.00

$34,103.00

Persons in poverty, percent

17.4%

11.4%

*All data is from the U.S. Census

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Mariska Lee

Mariska is a recovering attorney who gave up her professional job to discover new perspectives of life while traveling in a 2009 Ford Transit. She has been living the van life for 3 years and has not looked back since.

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