To determine which cities in California are the most dangerous, we compiled data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report and sorted each city’s violent crime rate. Violent crimes include: murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assaults.
Violent crime rate is calculated by dividing the total numbers of violent crime by the total population; the result is multiplied by 100,000.
The California sate average for violent crime is 442 per 100,000 people and its state average for property crime is 2,138.9 per 100,000 people.
What Is The Most Dangerous City In California?
The most dangerous city in California is Stockton. In 2019, Stockton had a violent crime rate of 1,396.66 per 100,000 people and a property crime rate of 4,190.30.
Stockton’s violent crime rate is 3.2x greater than the state average. It’s property crime rate is almost twice the state average.
Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities In California
1. Stockton – 1,396.66 violent crimes per 100k
Population in 2019 | 216,715 |
Property Crime Rate | 4,190.30 |
Murders in 2019 | 102 |
Murder Rate | 23.14 |
Poverty Rate | 26.0% |
(View our full write-up of Stockton)
2. San Bernardino – 1,318.783 violent crimes per 100k
(map)
Population in 2019 | 216,715 |
Property Crime Rate | 4,190.30 |
Murders in 2019 | 45 |
Murder Rate |
21.23 |
Poverty Rate | 26.0% |
(View our full write-up of San Bernardino)
3. Susanville – 1,317.381 violent crimes per 100k
(map)
Population in 2019 | 14,878 |
Property Crime Rate | 1,391.32 |
Murders in 2019 | 0 |
Murder Rate | 0 |
Poverty Rate | 18.9% |
4. Oakland, California – 1,271.784 violent crimes per 100k
(map)
Population in 2019 | 440,646 |
Property Crime Rate | 6,420.67 |
Murders in 2019 | 78 |
Murder Rate | 17.97 |
Poverty Rate | 16.7% |
(View our full write-up of Oakland)
5. Dos Palos – 1,144.083 violent crimes per 100k
(map)
Population in 2019 | 5,594 |
Property Crime Rate | 3,021.09 |
Murders in 2019 | 0 |
Murder Rate | 0 |
Poverty Rate | 14.7% |
6. Compton – 1290.87 violent crimes per 100k
(map)
Population in 2019 | 96,638 |
Property Crime Rate | 2,427.62 |
Murders in 2019 | 18 |
Murder Rate | 18.63 |
Poverty Rate | 20.5% |
(View our full write-up of Compton)
7. Barstow – 1,135.940 violent crimes per 100k
(map)
Population in 2019 | 24,121 |
Property Crime Rate | 2,427.62 |
Murders in 2019 | 5 |
Murder Rate | 20.73 |
Poverty Rate | 35.3% |
(View our full write-up of Barstow)
8. Huron – 1,127.871 violent crimes per 100k
(map)
Population in 2019 | 7,359 |
Property Crime Rate | 760.97 |
Murders in 2019 | 0 |
Murder Rate | 0 |
Poverty Rate | 45.7% |
9. Commerce – 1,077.788 violent crimes per 100k
(map)
Population in 2019 | 12,804 |
Property Crime Rate | 7,841.30 |
Murders in 2019 | 1 |
Murder Rate |
7.81 |
Poverty Rate | 14.8% |
10. Richmond – 931.632 violent crimes per 100k
Population in 2019 | 110,988 |
Property Crime Rate |
3,773.38 |
Murders in 2019 | 16 |
Murder Rate |
14.42 |
Poverty Rate | 14.7% |
The Most Dangerous Cities In California VS The Safest City In California
Here’s a graph showing you the violent crime rates of the top 10 most dangerous cities in California and we also included the safest city in California, Irvine, to give you some perspective on the contrast in crime rates.
City |
Population |
Violent Crime Rate |
Property Crime Rate |
Stockton |
313,604 |
1,396.666 |
3,943.51 |
San Bernardino |
216,715 |
1,318.783 |
4,190.30 |
Susanville |
14,878 |
1,317.381 |
1,391.32 |
Oakland |
434,036 |
1,271.784 |
6,420.67 |
Dos Palos |
5,594 |
1,144.083 |
3,021.09 |
Compton |
96,638 |
1,142.408 |
2,427.62 |
Barstow |
24,121 |
1,135.940 |
4,087.72 |
Huron |
7,359 |
1,127.871 |
760.97 |
Commerce |
12,804 |
1,077.788 |
7,841.30 |
Richmond | 110,988 |
931.632 |
3,773.38 |
Top 10 Most Dangerous Small-Sized Cities In California (Up To 50,000 People)
City |
Population |
Violent Crime Rate |
1. Emeryville |
12,380 |
1,340.87 |
2. Susanville |
14,878 |
1,317.38 |
3. Weed |
2,673 |
1,271.98 |
4. Dos Palos |
5,594 |
1,144.08 |
5. Barstow |
24,121 |
1,135.94 |
6. Huron |
7,359 |
1,127.87 |
7. Commerce |
12,804 |
1,077.79 |
8. Red Bluff |
14,308 |
929.55 |
9. Marysville |
12,572 |
922.69 |
10. Arvin |
21,811 |
898.63 |
Top 10 Most Dangerous Medim-Sized Cities In California (50,000-200,000 People)
City |
Population |
Violent Crime Rate |
1. Compton |
96,638 |
1,142.41 |
2. Richmond |
110,988 |
931.63 |
3. Lancaster |
159,335 |
852.92 |
4. Vallejo |
122,657 |
845.45 |
5. Victorville |
123,089 |
802.67 |
6. Huntington Park |
58,181 |
787.20 |
7. Hawthorne |
87,305 |
728.48 |
8. Santa Monica |
91,621 |
724.72 |
9. South Gate |
94,445 |
658.58 |
10. Highland |
55,686 |
650.07 |
Top 10 Most Dangerous Large Cities In California (200,000+ people)
City |
Population |
Violent Crime Rate |
1. Stockton |
313,604 |
1,396.67 |
2. San Bernardino |
216,715 |
1,318.78 |
3. Oakland |
434,036 |
1,271.78 |
4. Modesto |
216,542 |
811.85 |
5. Los Angeles |
4,015,546 |
732.15 |
6. San Francisco |
886,007 |
669.63 |
7. Sacramento |
513,934 |
627.12 |
8. Long Beach |
467,974 |
506.22 |
9. Riverside |
333,260 |
505.91 |
10. Bakersfield | 388,080 |
455.06 |