Photo: Craig Dietrich · CC BY 2.0More violent crime is recorded per resident in California City than in 91% of U.S. towns
Overall, California City grades C− for safety (#309 of 416 graded towns in California State): more crime per resident than 83% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported in 2023–2025. On top of that, recorded violent crimes ran at 5.7 per 1,000 residents a year and property crime at 15.8, against 4.9 and 21.4 in the rest of California State.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of CA” is every other California State city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What’s behind California City’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical. Its property rate (15.8) is below the FBI’s national estimate (17.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | California City | Rest of California State | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 5.9 | 5.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 5.9 | 4.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 5.3 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
California City’s police reported 236 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 5.7 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the rest of California State and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in California City per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And about 5 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | California City property | Rest of California State property | California City violent | Rest of California State violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 13.1 | 24.8 | 5.1 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 17.1 | 25.0 | 5.9 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 15.9 | 20.8 | 5.9 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 14.0 | 18.5 | 5.3 | 4.3 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of California State.
247 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
68 violent and 179 property, as reported to the FBI by California City’s police.
12 people died in crashes on California City’s roads in 2019–2023
California City had 11 fatal crashes in five years, in which 12 people died; 3 were pedestrians.
That is 16.7 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for California State towns of 5,000–25,000 people (5.6, 355 towns).
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
California City and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| California City | C− | 5.7 | 15.8 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
California State towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| California City | C− | 5.7 | 15.8 |
| Mill Valley | B+ | 0.7 | 8.6 |
| Avenal | B− | 3.9 | 2.5 |
| Kingsburg | B− | 1.6 | 12.5 |
| Hawaiian Gardens | D | 6.3 | 19.9 |
| Emeryville | D− | 11.6 | 132.7 |
The five graded California State towns closest to California City’s population (13,300), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of California City. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against California City’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (12,745 in 2025); our figure for California City is 13,300 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in California City
Is California City, CA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, California City reports more crime per resident than 83% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade and #309 of 416 in California State. Its police reported 5.7 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the rest of California State and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in California City?
5.7 violent and 15.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of California State reports 4.9 and 21.4; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Who polices California City?
California City’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “California City”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in California City.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.