Most Dangerous Cities in California (2024)
The 25 most dangerous cities in California ranked by violent crime rate per 100,000 residents, based on 2024 FBI data.California has 462 cities reporting crime data.
Key Insights
- →Oakland has the highest violent crime rate in California at 1925.3 per 100K — 5.4x the national average.
- →25 of the top 25 most dangerous cities in California exceed the national average violent crime rate of 359.1/100K.
- →The top 3 — Oakland, Commerce, Red Bluff — account for a combined 8,725 violent crimes.
- →California's statewide violent crime rate is 486.0/100K, 35% above the national average.
1925.3
Highest Rate
486.0
State Average
359.1
National Average
25
Above National Avg
Top 25 Most Dangerous Cities in California
Ranked by violent crime rate per 100,000 residents. Only cities with 10,000+ residents are included to avoid statistical distortion from tiny populations.
| # | City | Population | Violent Rate | Murder Rate | Property Rate | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakland | 435,042 | 1925.3 | 18.6 | 7230.3 | F |
| 2 | Commerce | 11,464 | 1448.0 | 8.7 | 12360.4 | F |
| 3 | Red Bluff | 14,329 | 1277.1 | 7.0 | 4250.1 | F |
| 4 | Compton | 89,564 | 1271.7 | 20.1 | 3145.2 | F |
| 5 | Emeryville | 12,671 | 1231.2 | 0.0 | 13487.5 | F |
| 6 | Stockton | 319,069 | 1145.8 | 16.0 | 2639.6 | F |
| 7 | Barstow | 24,817 | 1108.1 | 4.0 | 2639.3 | F |
| 8 | Eureka | 25,485 | 1016.3 | 0.0 | 3170.5 | F |
| 9 | Victorville | 140,309 | 1015.6 | 7.8 | 2128.9 | F |
| 10 | Oroville | 19,270 | 980.8 | 0.0 | 3819.4 | F |
| 11 | Richmond | 113,418 | 923.1 | 7.9 | 2762.3 | F |
| 12 | Signal Hill | 11,068 | 912.5 | 0.0 | 5918.0 | F |
| 13 | Lynwood | 62,089 | 910.0 | 8.1 | 3208.3 | F |
| 14 | Santa Fe Springs | 20,534 | 905.8 | 4.9 | 6160.5 | F |
| 15 | Parlier | 14,377 | 897.3 | 0.0 | 966.8 | F |
| 16 | San Bernardino | 224,283 | 897.1 | 11.2 | 2897.7 | F |
| 17 | West Hollywood | 33,928 | 884.2 | 5.9 | 5491.0 | F |
| 18 | Anderson | 11,170 | 841.5 | 0.0 | 1369.7 | F |
| 19 | Lancaster | 164,012 | 834.7 | 17.7 | 1920.6 | F |
| 20 | Clearlake | 16,410 | 828.8 | 24.4 | 1584.4 | F |
| 21 | South Lake Tahoe | 21,005 | 785.5 | 0.0 | 1461.6 | F |
| 22 | Merced | 96,077 | 784.8 | 7.3 | 2792.6 | F |
| 23 | Santa Monica | 88,948 | 778.0 | 4.5 | 4790.4 | F |
| 24 | Arvin | 22,149 | 776.6 | 9.0 | 1760.8 | F |
| 25 | Sacramento | 526,670 | 754.9 | 8.5 | 2547.3 | F |
Understanding the Data
Violent crime includes murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault as defined by the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. Rates are per 100,000 residents and based on the latest 2024 data.
Why population matters: Cities under 10,000 are excluded from this ranking because a single incident can produce an extremely high per-capita rate. A city of 500 with one murder has a "murder rate" of 200/100K — statistically meaningless.
Not all crime is reported. FBI data only captures crimes reported to police. The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates only ~40% of violent crimes are reported. See our hidden crime estimates →