If you are thinking about visiting San Clemente 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 San Clemente safe?
San Clemente is a very safe city as indicated by its crime rates. In 2020, San Clemente had a violent crime rate of 143.09 per 100,000 residents, which is 64% less than the national average. San Clemente’s crime rate is similar to Irvine and Mission Viejo.
Here’s a scale to give you some perspective on San Clemente’s crime rate
San Clemente Crime Rates And Crime Stats
The most recent, complete set of crime statistics comes from the FBI UCR and cross referenced with the San Clemente PD and are for 2019 and 2020:
San Clemente police reported a total of 962 offenses in 2020, compared with 1,009 in 2019, which is a 5% year-over-year decrease.
2019
2020
% Change
Homicide
1
1
0%
Rape
3
3
0%
Robbery
29
30
3%
Aggravated Assaults
54
58
7%
VIOLENT CRIME TOTALS
87
92
6%
Burglary
160
114
-29%
Larceny
700
655
-6%
Motor Vehicle Theft
58
97
67%
Arson
4
4
0%
PROPERTY CRIME TOTALS
922
870
-6%
TOTAL CRIME
1,009
962
-5%
Violent Crime Rate
In 2020 San Clemente reported 92 violent crimes and had a violent crime rate of 143.09 per 100,000 residents. San Clemente’s violent crime rate is roughly the same as the national average.
Year over year violent crime increased 6%.
You have a 1 in 699 chance of becoming a victim of violent crime in San Clemente.
Violent crimes include; homicides, rape, robbery and aggravated assaults.
Here’s a graph showing you how violent crime has trended in San Clemente in the last 11 years.
Property Crime Rate
In 2020 San Clemente reported 870 property crimes and had a property crime rate of 1,353.18 per 100,000 residents. San Clemente’s property crime rate is 31% less than the national average.
Year over year property crime decreased 6%.
You have a 1 in 74 chance of becoming a victim of property crime in San Clemente.
Property crimes include; burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
Murder Rate
In 2020 San Clemente reported 1 murders and had a murder rate of 1.56 per 100,000 residents. San Clemente’s murder rate is 76% less than the national average.
You have a 1 in 64,293 chance of becoming a victim of property crime in San Clemente.
San Clemente crime map
Here’s a map showing you the location of all the violent crimes in San Clemente during the period of 1/1/2022 – 6/23/2022 – Crime Mapping
San Clemente’s crime rate vs other cities in California (2020)
Here’s how San Clemente’s crime rate compared to other cities in California. San Clemente had a similar crime rate to Irvine and Mission Viejo.
Here’s a list of the top 23 most dangerous cities in the United States ranked by violent crime rates. San Clemente’s violent crime rate is 20 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
San Clemente
64,293
143.09
Is Downtown San Clemente safe?
Downtown San Clemente (Avenida Del Mar) is generally a safe area during the day and at night. There are a lot of good options for restaurants, bars and shopping, which are all in walking distance of each other and there is usually a good amount of people and police around.
Is the public transportation in San Clemente, CA safe?
The public transportation system in San Clemente is handled by the Orange County Transit Authority (OCTA), which offers many routes that interweave throughout the entire city.
The OCTA is generally a safe option to use during the day and at night.
Is San Clemente, CA safe at night?
San Clemente is generally a safe city at night. At night you should always stay in well populated areas and avoid walking through alleys or desolate areas. And as a woman you should also avoid walking far distance by yourself at night.
What do residents of San Clemente say about it’s safety?
San Clemente is a lovely beach town and is pretty safe. I can go anywhere and never feel afraid for my safety.
I love San Clemente. It is very safe. The beach and the town is lovely and the little downtown area is cute with great restaurants and shopping.
San Clemente is very mellow. You don’t have to really worry about crime here. There are some homeless near and around the beach, but they leave you alone for the most part.
San Clemente has very little crime. There’s supposedly a gang around town but I never seen them and they don’t really do anything.
Tips to stay safe while visiting San Clemente, CA
Avoid walking by yourself at night.
Don’t walk through deserted or desolate areas at night. Stay in places that are well populated.
Don’t leave valuables in your car. Put anything worth value in your trunk. Make your car as uninviting to thieves as possible.
Always trust your intuition. If you think something is amiss, remove yourself from that situation.
There’s no need to be courtesy to anyone that is making you feel uncomfortable.
Wait a second or two when the light turns green before crossing the street or driving through the intersection.
Facts about San Clemente, CA
The population of San Clemente in 2020 was 64,293.
The city covers a land area of 18.36 sq mi.
The median age was 28.6 years.
95.0% of residents 25 and older is a high school graduate. 50.3% of residents 25 and older has a bachelors degree or higher.
The median income for a household in the city was $108,183. The per capita income for the city was $59,167.
5.2% of the population live below the poverty line.
The median home value in San Clemente is $1.7M in 2022.
In 2022, the average rent for a San Clemente 2-bedroom apartment is $3,400.
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.
You may recall Felice Schachter from the popular sitcom Facts of Life or her first and only film, Zapped!, starring Scott Baio. Although she became a recognizable face for millions of Americans in...
