Photo: Stickpen · Public domainLa Mesa reports more crime per resident than 73% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported to the FBI by La Mesa’s police in 2023–2025, it grades C for safety: #215 of 416 graded towns in 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 La Mesa
1 of the 3 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 5 California towns on La Mesa’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Lemon Grove (C), San Diego (C−), El Cajon (C−). Casa de Oro-Mount Helix and Spring Valley are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Neighbors ↓
Among California towns, closer to the middle
California’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so La Mesa’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 48% of the 416 California towns we grade, against 27% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind La Mesa’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. Its property rate (14.6) 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.
For every 1,000 residents, about 13 property crimes reported
And about 4 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
La Mesa’s police reported 719 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 4.0 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 | La Mesa | Rest of California | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.0 | 5.1 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 3.8 | 5.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Reported crime is steady
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.
Show as a table
| Year | La Mesa property | Rest of California property | La Mesa violent | Rest of California violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 20.8 | 24.8 | 3.0 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 16.6 | 25.0 | 3.8 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 13.8 | 20.8 | 4.2 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 13.4 | 18.5 | 4.0 | 4.3 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
1,054 crimes reported in 2025
241 violent and 813 property, as reported to the FBI by La Mesa’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
26 people died in crashes on La Mesa’s roads in 2019–2023
La Mesa had 26 fatal crashes in five years, in which 26 people died; 9 were pedestrians. 8 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 8.6 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.
La Mesa and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Mesa | C | 4.0 | 14.6 |
| Casa de Oro-Mount Helix | — | — | — |
| San Diego | C− | 4.0 | 16.7 |
| El Cajon | C− | 4.5 | 14.1 |
| Lemon Grove | C | 4.6 | 11.2 |
| Spring Valley | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Casa de Oro-Mount Helix and Spring Valley are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
California towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Mesa | C | 4.0 | 14.6 |
| Encinitas | B | 1.8 | 8.9 |
| Petaluma | C+ | 2.6 | 12.0 |
| Gilroy | C− | 4.7 | 23.3 |
| San Rafael | D | 4.8 | 24.1 |
| Montebello | D | 4.8 | 26.5 |
The five graded California towns closest to La Mesa’s population (59,914), 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 La Mesa. 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 La Mesa’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (60,686 in 2025); our figure for La Mesa is 59,914 (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 La Mesa
Is La Mesa, CA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, La Mesa reports more crime per resident than 73% of U.S. towns, a C Safety Grade and #215 of 416 in California. Its police reported 4.0 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 La Mesa?
4.0 violent and 14.6 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 La Mesa?
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in La Mesa in 2025?
La Mesa’s police reported 1 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 1.6 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is La Mesa safer than San Diego?
San Diego reports more crime per resident than La Mesa: San Diego grades C− for safety and La Mesa C. San Diego’s police reported 4.0 violent and 16.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices La Mesa?
La Mesa’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “La Mesa”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in La Mesa.
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.