Photo: Epolk at English Wikipedia · CC BY 3.0More crimes per resident are recorded in Compton than in 98% of U.S. towns
Its letter for safety is D−, worked out from crimes Compton’s police reported over 2023 to 2025: #406 of 416 graded towns in California. What’s more, violent crime here is higher than in 99% of U.S. towns; property crime, higher than in 91%. Behind the grade sit 12.4 violent crimes and 30.3 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 4.8 and 21.3 in the rest of California. Per resident, the graded crimes were down 19% from 2023 to 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 Compton
4 of the 4 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 7 California towns on Compton’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: Carson (D), Paramount (D), Long Beach (D), Lynwood (D). Willowbrook, West Rancho Dominguez and East Rancho Dominguez are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Neighbors ↓
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 Compton’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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Compton | Rest of California | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 11.4 | 5.1 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 11.9 | 5.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 12.7 | 4.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 12.5 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Compton’s police reported 3,338 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 12.4 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.8 in the rest of California and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Compton property | Rest of California property | Compton violent | Rest of California violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 26.7 | 24.8 | 11.4 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 34.4 | 24.9 | 11.9 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 31.5 | 20.8 | 12.7 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 25.0 | 18.5 | 12.5 | 4.3 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
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.
Crime in Compton 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 13 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
3,375 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.
1,122 violent and 2,253 property, as reported to the FBI by Compton’s police.
81 people died in crashes on Compton’s roads in 2019–2023
Compton had 76 fatal crashes in five years, in which 81 people died; 32 were pedestrians and 7 were cyclists. 4 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 17.5 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for California towns of 25,000–100,000 people (5.6, 231 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.
Compton and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compton | D− | 12.4 | 30.3 |
| Willowbrook | — | — | — |
| Carson | D | 4.3 | 27.4 |
| Lynwood | D | 8.0 | 27.5 |
| West Rancho Dominguez | — | — | — |
| Paramount | D | 6.4 | 26.6 |
| East Rancho Dominguez | — | — | — |
| Long Beach | D | 6.4 | 30.0 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Willowbrook, West Rancho Dominguez and East Rancho Dominguez are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
California towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compton | D− | 12.4 | 30.3 |
| Mission Viejo | B | 1.2 | 11.0 |
| Folsom | C+ | 1.9 | 14.2 |
| Westminster | C− | 4.0 | 24.2 |
| South Gate | D | 5.1 | 34.6 |
| Santa Monica | D− | 7.6 | 45.3 |
The five graded California towns closest to Compton’s population (90,500), 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 Compton. 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 Compton’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (90,092 in 2025); our figure for Compton is 90,500 (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 Compton
Is Compton, CA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Compton reports more crime per resident than 98% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade and #406 of 416 in California. Its police reported 12.4 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.8 in the rest of California and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Compton?
12.4 violent and 30.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of California reports 4.8 and 21.3; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Compton in 2025?
Compton’s police reported 18 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 20.0 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Compton safer than Carson?
Carson reports less crime per resident than Compton: Carson grades D for safety and Compton D−. Carson’s police reported 4.3 violent and 27.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Compton?
Compton’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Compton”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Compton.
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.