Photo: Kotoviski photographed by Henryk Kotowski · CC BY-SA 3.0Reported crime per resident in Imperial Beach fell 47% from 2023 to 2025
Overall, Imperial Beach grades C+ for safety (#121 of 416 graded towns in California): 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 Imperial Beach
Imperial Beach reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 2 California towns on Imperial Beach’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Coronado (C), San Diego (C−). Neighbors ↓
Among California towns, closer to the middle
California’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so Imperial Beach’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 71% of the 416 California towns we grade, against 41% 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 Imperial Beach’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Property crime holds Imperial Beach’s grade up; violent crime pulls it down.
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 | Imperial Beach property | Rest of California property | Imperial Beach violent | Rest of California violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 10.6 | 24.8 | 4.0 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 9.2 | 25.0 | 3.6 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 6.4 | 20.8 | 5.4 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 3.9 | 18.5 | 2.8 | 4.3 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 4 property crimes reported
And about 3 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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Imperial Beach’s police reported 300 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 3.9 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the rest of California and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Show as a table
| Year | Imperial Beach | Rest of California | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 4.0 | 5.1 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 3.6 | 5.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 5.4 | 4.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 2.8 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
172 crimes reported in 2025
72 violent and 100 property, as reported to the FBI by Imperial Beach’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
Two people died in crashes on Imperial Beach’s roads in 2019–2023
Imperial Beach had 2 fatal crashes in five years, in which two people died; 2 were pedestrians.
That is fewer than is typical for California towns of 25,000–100,000 people: at their median rate (5.6 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Imperial Beach’s size would see about 7 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Imperial Beach’s own rate (1.6) is context, not a ranking.
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.
Imperial Beach and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial Beach | C+ | 3.9 | 6.5 |
| San Diego | C− | 4.0 | 16.7 |
| Coronado | C | 3.4 | 17.1 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
California towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial Beach | C+ | 3.9 | 6.5 |
| Lafayette | B | 0.7 | 12.0 |
| Norco | C | 1.2 | 24.1 |
| South Pasadena | C− | 2.2 | 24.1 |
| Eureka | D− | 9.3 | 30.2 |
| Barstow | D− | 11.0 | 27.0 |
The five graded California towns closest to Imperial Beach’s population (25,206), 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 Imperial Beach. 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 Imperial Beach’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (25,437 in 2025); our figure for Imperial Beach is 25,206 (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 Imperial Beach
Is Imperial Beach, CA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Imperial Beach reports more crime per resident than 59% of U.S. towns, a C+ Safety Grade and #121 of 416 in California. Its police reported 3.9 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 Imperial Beach?
3.9 violent and 6.5 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 Imperial Beach?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Imperial Beach in 2025?
Imperial Beach’s police reported 1 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 3.9 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Imperial Beach safer than San Diego?
San Diego reports more crime per resident than Imperial Beach: San Diego grades C− for safety and Imperial Beach C+. San Diego’s police reported 4.0 violent and 16.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Imperial Beach?
Imperial Beach’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Imperial Beach”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Imperial Beach.
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.