Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Fountain Valley records more property crime per head than three in four U.S. towns
The graded rate fell 23% from 2023 to 2025. On top of that, among its 4 neighbors with figures, only one records less crime per resident. Overall, it grades C+ for safety (#148 of 416 graded towns in California). Out of every 1,000 residents, 1.6 violent crimes and 18.3 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 4.9 and 21.4 in the rest of California.
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 Fountain Valley
1 of the 4 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 4 California towns on Fountain Valley’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: Garden Grove (C+), Huntington Beach (C), Santa Ana (C−), Westminster (C−). Neighbors ↓
Among California towns, closer to the middle
California’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so Fountain Valley’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 64% of the 416 California towns we grade, against 36% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
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 Fountain Valley’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds Fountain Valley’s grade up; property crime pulls it down.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Fountain Valley property | Rest of California property | Fountain Valley violent | Rest of California violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 22.3 | 24.8 | 1.5 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 21.3 | 25.0 | 1.4 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 17.8 | 20.8 | 1.8 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 15.8 | 18.5 | 1.8 | 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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Fountain Valley | Rest of California | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.5 | 5.1 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.4 | 5.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.8 | 4.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.8 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Fountain Valley’s police reported 273 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.6 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the rest of California and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Fountain Valley 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 2 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
980 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.
99 violent and 881 property, as reported to the FBI by Fountain Valley’s police.
24 people died in crashes on Fountain Valley’s roads in 2019–2023
Fountain Valley had 24 fatal crashes in five years, in which 24 people died; 6 were pedestrians and 6 were cyclists. 3 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 8.5 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.
Fountain Valley and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fountain Valley | C+ | 1.6 | 18.3 |
| Westminster | C− | 4.0 | 24.2 |
| Santa Ana | C− | 4.6 | 16.6 |
| Huntington Beach | C | 2.0 | 18.2 |
| Garden Grove | C+ | 2.3 | 14.2 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
California towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fountain Valley | C+ | 1.6 | 18.3 |
| Lincoln | A− | 1.1 | 5.7 |
| West Sacramento | C+ | 2.8 | 14.2 |
| Placentia | C | 2.9 | 15.0 |
| San Jacinto | C | 3.3 | 18.1 |
| Arcadia | C− | 2.4 | 27.7 |
The five graded California towns closest to Fountain Valley’s population (55,508), 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 Fountain Valley. 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 Fountain Valley’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (55,805 in 2025); our figure for Fountain Valley is 55,508 (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 Fountain Valley
Is Fountain Valley, CA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Fountain Valley reports more crime per resident than 64% of U.S. towns, a C+ Safety Grade and #148 of 416 in California. Its police reported 1.6 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 Fountain Valley?
1.6 violent and 18.3 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 Fountain Valley in 2025?
Fountain Valley’s police reported 0 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 0.0 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Fountain Valley safer than Westminster?
Westminster reports more crime per resident than Fountain Valley: Westminster grades C− for safety and Fountain Valley C+. Westminster’s police reported 4.0 violent and 24.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Fountain Valley?
Fountain Valley’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Fountain Valley”. 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 Fountain Valley.
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.