Photo: Catalinaschool · CC BY 4.0Monterey reports more crime per resident than 76% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported to the FBI by Monterey’s police in 2023–2025, it grades C− for safety: #245 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 Monterey
2 of the 3 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 4 California towns on Monterey’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Pacific Grove (B), Seaside (C), Del Rey Oaks (C−). Del Monte Forest 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 Monterey’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 41% of the 416 California towns we grade, against 24% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
A college town
Monterey is home to Monterey Peninsula College, with 5,588 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 10% of residents are enrolled in college (Census). Students who live in town count as residents, so they are part of the per-resident rate. How to read it ↓
A job center
Monterey has 24,631 jobs based in town for 28,953 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
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 Monterey’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 (16.6) 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.
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 | Monterey property | Rest of California property | Monterey violent | Rest of California violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 22.7 | 24.8 | 3.7 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 18.3 | 25.0 | 4.6 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 17.8 | 20.8 | 3.8 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 13.5 | 18.5 | 3.5 | 4.3 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 14 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
Monterey’s police reported 344 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 | Monterey | Rest of California | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.7 | 5.1 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 4.6 | 5.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
487 crimes reported in 2025
100 violent and 387 property, as reported to the FBI by Monterey’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
Six people died in crashes on Monterey’s roads in 2019–2023
Monterey had 6 fatal crashes in five years, in which six people died; 1 was a pedestrian.
That is about what 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 Monterey’s size would see about 8 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Monterey’s own rate (4.1) 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.
Monterey and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey | C− | 4.0 | 16.6 |
| Del Monte Forest | — | — | — |
| Seaside | C | 4.9 | 7.8 |
| Del Rey Oaks | C− | 2.8 | 22.7 |
| Pacific Grove | B | 1.4 | 8.1 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Del Monte Forest 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey | C− | 4.0 | 16.6 |
| Atascadero | B | 1.8 | 9.0 |
| Belmont | B− | 1.7 | 12.8 |
| Suisun City | C | 3.5 | 15.0 |
| Ridgecrest | C− | 6.0 | 9.6 |
| East Palo Alto | C− | 5.8 | 18.6 |
The five graded California towns closest to Monterey’s population (28,953), 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 Monterey. 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 Monterey’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (28,727 in 2025); our figure for Monterey is 28,953 (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 Monterey
Is Monterey, CA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Monterey reports more crime per resident than 76% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade and #245 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 Monterey?
4.0 violent and 16.6 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 Monterey?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Monterey in 2025?
Monterey’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 Monterey safer than Seaside?
Seaside reports less crime per resident than Monterey: Seaside grades C for safety and Monterey C−. Seaside’s police reported 4.9 violent and 7.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Monterey?
Monterey’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Monterey”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Monterey.
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.