Costa Mesa is one of the most vibrant cities in Orange County. The food and shopping options are damn near unlimited and there is so many things to see and do.
If you are thinking about visiting Costa Mesa and have qualms about the safety of the city, we got you covered. We deep dived into the statistics, crime rates and talked to the residents of the city to give you a better understanding of how safe the safe the city really is.
Is Costa Mesa safe?
Statistically speaking, Costa Mesa is a safe city as indicated by its crime rates. In 2021, Costa Mesa had a violent crime rate of 591.42 per 100,000 residents, which is 48% greater than the national average. Costa Mesa’s had a similar crime rate to Long Beach and Santa Ana.
Here’s a scale to give you some perspective on Costa Mesa’s crime rate
Costa Mesa Crime Rates And Crime Stats
The most recent, complete set of crime statistics comes from the FBI UCR and cross referenced with the Costa Mesa PD and are for 2020 and 2021:
Costa Mesa police reported a total of 4,410 offenses in 2021, compared with 4,098 in 2020, which is a 7.61% year-over-year decrease.
2020
2021
% Change
Homicide
4
1
-75.00%
Rape
64
67
4.69%
Robbery
116
145
25.00%
Aggravated Assaults
304
442
45.39%
VIOLENT CRIME TOTALS
488
655
34.22%
Burglary
512
507
-0.98%
Larceny
2,698
2,801
3.82%
Motor Vehicle Theft
369
425
15.18%
Arson
31
22
-29.03%
PROPERTY CRIME TOTALS
3,610
3,755
4.02%
TOTAL CRIME
4,098
4,410
7.61%
Violent Crime Rate
In 2021 Costa Mesa reported 655 violent crimes and had a violent crime rate of 591.42 per 100,000 residents. Costa Mesa’s violent crime rate is 81% less than the national average.
Year over year violent crime increased 34% and the majority of the increase can be attributed to aggravated assaults which increased 45% and robberies which increased 25%.
You have a 1 in 169 chance of becoming a victim of violent crime in Costa Mesa.
Violent crimes include; homicides, rape, robbery and aggravated assaults.
Here’s a graph showing you how violent crime has trended in Costa Mesa in the last 12 years.
Property Crime Rate
In 2021 Costa Mesa reported 3,755 property crimes and had a property crime rate of 3,390.52 per 100,000 residents. Costa Mesa’s property crime rate is 73% higher than the national average.
Year over year property crime increased 4%.
You have a 1 in 29 chance of becoming a victim of property crime in Costa Mesa.
Property crimes include; burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
Murder Rate
In 2021 Costa Mesa reported 1 murders and had a murder rate of 0.90 per 100,000 residents.
Year over year murders decreased 75%.
You have a 1 in 110,750 chance of becoming a victim of property crime in Costa Mesa.
Costa Mesa Crime Map
Here’s a map showing you all the locations of violent crime (homicides, assaults and robberies) in Costa Mesa from 6/4/2022 – 6/18/2022 via Costa Mesa PD
Costa Mesa’s crime rate vs other cities in California (2020)
Here’s how Costa Mesa’s crime rate compared to other cities in California. Costa Mesa had the lowest crime rate of all cities listed.
Here’s a list of the top 23 most dangerous cities in the United States ranked by violent crime rates. Costa Mesa’s violent crime rate is 5 times less than Monroe, Louisiana, the most dangerous city on the list.
City
Population
Violent Crime Rate per 100,000 people
Monroe
47,702
2,932.79
Memphis
633,104
2,418.24
Atlantic City
38,497
2,335.25
Saginaw
44,202
2,327.95
Detroit
639,111
2,248.44
St. Louis
301,578
1,995.17
Alexandria
45,275
1,877.42
Pine Bluff
41,253
1,808.35
Little Rock
202,591
1,805.11
Milwaukee
577,222
1,733.13
South Bend
103,453
1,706.09
Cleveland
372,624
1,689.10
Camden
71,791
1,632.52
Birmingham
200,733
1,577.22
Kansas City
508,090
1,558.58
Baltimore
585,708
1,460.11
Albuquerque
564,559
1,406.41
Chattanooga
181,099
1,382.67
San Bernardino
222,101
1,365.59
New Orleans
383,997
1,358.08
Oakland
440,646
1,347.34
Costa Mesa
110,750
591.42
Is the public transportation in Costa Mesa, CA safe?
The public transportation system in Costa Mesa is handled by the OCTA, which offers many routes that interweave throughout the entire city.
The OCTA is generally a safe option to use during the day and night.
Is Downtown Costa Mesa safe?
Downtown Costa Mesa (Triangle Square) is safe during the day and at night. It is a well populated area and there is usually a good police presence.
The only thing you really need to worry about is some drunk idiot coming out of a bar and trying to start a fight.
Is Costa Mesa, CA safe at night?
Costa Mesa is safe at night. The westside of the city can get a little sketchy at night, so we advise you to not walk by yourself in that area at night. The area is highlighted in red.
What do residents of Costa Mesa say about it’s safety?
Costa Mesa is safe. There are some areas that are sketchy at night but this is Orange County and efven the worse areas in OC arent really that bad.
Anyone that tells you that Costa Mesa is bad, lives in a suburban bubble and has no perspective outside that bubble.
The westside of Costa Mesa gets a bad rap because a lot of residents are Hispanic, but its not bad at all.
West Costa Mesa is know as the ‘bad area’ but only because it isn’t as affluent as the East Side.
When it comes to safety, Costa Mesa is in the middle. It’s not as safe as Irvine and its not as dangerous as Stanton or Santa Ana.
Costa Mesa is the middle ground of Orange County. There are affluent areas and there are some not so great areas, and sometimes, they overlap.
The area around Victoria/Placentia is the sketchy area but its being gentrified rather quickly.
I live in the westside I am a middle-aged white lady and I never felt in danger while living here. All our neighbors are working class families and are super friendly.
I was born and raised here and I can confidently say that Costa Mesa is safe. Never encountered any serious crime. The only thing thats happened to me is having some stuff stolen from my car, but that’s about it.
Costa Mesa is pretty safe. The westside has some homeless there and a large hispanic population and some people will tell you that it is unsafe for one of those reasons. But I have never encountered problems there. It might have been bad in the 90s but its really cleaned up and is rapidly being gentrified, for better or worse.
Tips to stay safe while visiting Costa Mesa, CA
Familiarize yourself with the city before you arrive. Figure out what parts of the city are safe and what parts are sketchy and plan your trip with that knowledge
Avoid walking by yourself at night, especially around the westside of Costa Mesa.
Don’t leave valuables in your car. Put anything worth value in your trunk. Make your car as uninviting to thieves as possible.
Always keep an eye on your drink. Don’t accept drinks from strangers unless it comes directly from the bartender.
Don’t engage with homeless people. Avoid them and keep walking.
Facts about Costa Mesa, CA
The population of Costa Mesa in 2020 was 110,750 and is the 58th most populous city in California.
The city covers a land area of 15.81sq mi.
The median age was 33.6 years.
85.8% of residents 25 and older is a high school graduate. 41.1% of residents 25 and older has a bachelors degree or higher.
The median income for a household in the city was $90,370. The per capita income for the city was $44,291.
10.3% of the population live below the poverty line.
The median home value in Costa Mesa is $1.25M in 2022.
In 2022, the average rent for a Costa Mesa 2-bedroom apartment is $2,695.
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