Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Reported crime per resident in Carlsbad fell 29% from 2023 to 2025
Overall, Carlsbad grades C+ for safety (#116 of 416 graded towns in California, and #52 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000): close to the middle of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported to the FBI in 2023–2025.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of CA” is every other California 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 stands out about safety in Carlsbad
3 of the 4 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 5 California towns on Carlsbad’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: San Marcos (B), Encinitas (B), Vista (B−), Oceanside (C−). Lake San Marcos is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Neighbors ↓
Among California towns, closer to the middle
California’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so Carlsbad’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 72% of the 416 California towns we grade, against 42% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Homicides: below U.S. cities overall
Carlsbad’s police reported 4 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 1.5 per 100,000 residents a year, below the rest of California (4.2) and below all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: below the rest of California
33.2 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (27 reported in 2025), below the rest of California (123) and below all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Carlsbad reports less crime per resident than 84% (#52). Places like it ↓
A job center
Carlsbad has 74,650 jobs based in town for 112,260 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Carlsbad’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; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical. Its violent rate (2.0) is below the FBI’s national estimate (3.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns. Its property rate (14.1) 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.
Homicides and robberies
Carlsbad’s police reported 4 homicides, 27 robberies and 236 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of California and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Show as a table
| Year | Carlsbad | Rest of California | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.0 | 5.6 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 0.0 | 4.9 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 0.9 | 4.2 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Carlsbad | Rest of California | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 41.5 | 136 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 41.3 | 142 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 34.5 | 128 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 23.8 | 102 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
Reported crime is falling
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of California.
Show as a table
| Year | Carlsbad property | Rest of California property | Carlsbad violent | Rest of California violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 17.7 | 24.8 | 2.1 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 16.2 | 25.0 | 2.0 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 15.1 | 20.9 | 2.0 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 10.8 | 18.5 | 2.1 | 4.3 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 11 property crimes reported
And about 2 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
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.
1,462 crimes reported in 2025
236 violent and 1,226 property, as reported to the FBI by Carlsbad’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
30 people died in crashes on Carlsbad’s roads in 2019–2023
Carlsbad had 29 fatal crashes in five years, in which 30 people died; 6 were pedestrians and 2 were cyclists. 11 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 5.2 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, below the median for California towns of 100,000+ people (7.7, 76 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.
Carlsbad and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlsbad | C+ | 2.0 | 14.1 |
| Encinitas | B | 1.8 | 8.9 |
| Oceanside | C− | 4.2 | 16.5 |
| Lake San Marcos | — | — | — |
| San Marcos | B | 1.8 | 6.1 |
| Vista | B− | 3.0 | 8.7 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Lake San Marcos is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own.
California towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlsbad | C+ | 2.0 | 14.1 |
| Murrieta | B− | 1.8 | 10.0 |
| Temecula | C+ | 1.6 | 16.9 |
| San Buenaventura (Ventura) | C− | 4.0 | 20.4 |
| Santa Maria | D | 6.3 | 19.9 |
| Richmond | D | 9.3 | 26.5 |
The five graded California towns closest to Carlsbad’s population (112,260), by grade.
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 Carlsbad. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Carlsbad’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (113,239 in 2025); our figure for Carlsbad is 112,260 (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 Carlsbad
Is Carlsbad, CA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Carlsbad reports more crime per resident than 58% of U.S. towns, a C+ Safety Grade and #116 of 416 in California. Its police reported 2.0 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the rest of California and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Carlsbad?
2.0 violent and 14.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of California reports 4.9 and 21.4; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Carlsbad?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Carlsbad in 2025?
Carlsbad’s police reported 4 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 3.5 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Carlsbad safer than Encinitas?
Encinitas reports less crime per resident than Carlsbad: Encinitas grades B for safety and Carlsbad C+. Encinitas’s police reported 1.8 violent and 8.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Carlsbad?
Carlsbad’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Carlsbad”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Carlsbad.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
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.