Photo: Dparranda · Public domainEl Monte records more violent crime per head than 83% of U.S. towns
The rate the grade counts held about level from 2023 to 2025. The yearly rates were 4.2 violent crimes and 19.9 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 4.9 and 21.4 in the rest of California. The grade is C−, built on crimes El Monte’s police reported from 2023 to 2025: #288 of 416 graded towns in California, and #153 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000. Among its 6 neighbors with figures, 2 record less crime per resident.
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 El Monte
2 of the 6 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 7 California towns on El Monte’s borders, 6 have a Safety Grade: Temple City (B−), Baldwin Park (C), Arcadia (C−), Rosemead (C−), South El Monte (D), Irwindale (D−). North El Monte 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 El Monte’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 31% of the 416 California towns we grade, against 19% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Homicides: below U.S. cities overall
El Monte’s police reported 2 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 3.6 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: above the rest of California
158 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (152 reported in 2025), above the rest of California (123) and 2.0 times 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, El Monte reports less crime per resident than 53% (#153). Places like it ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind El Monte’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.
Homicides and robberies
Show as a table
| Year | El Monte | Rest of California | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.8 | 5.6 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 2.9 | 4.9 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 5.9 | 4.2 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | El Monte | Rest of California | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 146 | 135 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 163 | 141 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 163 | 127 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 147 | 101 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
El Monte’s police reported 2 homicides, 152 robberies and 425 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.
Crime in El Monte 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 4 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 | El Monte property | Rest of California property | El Monte violent | Rest of California violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 18.7 | 24.8 | 3.8 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 19.9 | 25.0 | 4.2 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 20.5 | 20.8 | 4.2 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 19.3 | 18.5 | 4.1 | 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.
2,426 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.
425 violent and 2,001 property, as reported to the FBI by El Monte’s police.
25 people died in crashes on El Monte’s roads in 2019–2023
El Monte had 25 fatal crashes in five years, in which 25 people died; 10 were pedestrians and 3 were cyclists. 4 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 4.7 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.
El Monte and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Monte | C− | 4.2 | 19.9 |
| South El Monte | D | 5.4 | 32.1 |
| Temple City | B− | 2.1 | 11.1 |
| North El Monte | — | — | — |
| Rosemead | C− | 3.9 | 24.5 |
| Arcadia | C− | 2.4 | 27.7 |
| Baldwin Park | C | 4.2 | 15.0 |
| Irwindale | D− | 22.5 | 160.8 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. North El Monte 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Monte | C− | 4.2 | 19.9 |
| San Mateo | C | 2.5 | 17.6 |
| Vacaville | C | 3.0 | 17.7 |
| West Covina | C | 2.7 | 20.5 |
| Chico | D | 6.6 | 18.4 |
| Rialto | D | 5.9 | 24.1 |
The five graded California towns closest to El Monte’s population (105,075), 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 El Monte. 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 El Monte’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (103,551 in 2025); our figure for El Monte is 105,075 (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 El Monte
Is El Monte, CA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, El Monte reports more crime per resident than 81% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade and #288 of 416 in California. Its police reported 4.2 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 El Monte?
4.2 violent and 19.9 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.
How many homicides were there in El Monte in 2025?
El Monte’s police reported 2 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 1.9 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is El Monte safer than South El Monte?
South El Monte reports more crime per resident than El Monte: South El Monte grades D for safety and El Monte C−. South El Monte’s police reported 5.4 violent and 32.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices El Monte?
El Monte’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “El Monte”. 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 El Monte.
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.