Photo: Der-wuppertaler · CC BY-SA 3.0Violent crime per resident is higher in National City than in 94% of U.S. towns
Its Safety Grade, D (#345 of 416 graded towns in California), rests on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025: more crime per resident than 88% of U.S. towns. What’s more, in a usual year, 6.6 violent crimes and 19.1 incidents of property crime are logged per 1,000 inhabitants; in the rest of California, 4.8 and 21.4. The crimes the grade counts fell 17% per resident from 2023 to 2025. Each of the two towns on its borders with figures records 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 National City
2 of the 2 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 3 California towns on National City’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Chula Vista (C), San Diego (C−). Bonita is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Neighbors ↓
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 National City’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.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | National City property | Rest of California property | National City violent | Rest of California violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 22.3 | 24.8 | 6.1 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 21.1 | 25.0 | 6.6 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 19.4 | 20.8 | 7.0 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 16.8 | 18.5 | 6.4 | 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 | National City | Rest of California | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 6.1 | 5.1 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 6.6 | 5.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 7.0 | 4.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 6.4 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
National City’s police reported 1,116 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 6.6 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.8 in the rest of California and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in National City 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 6 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
1,337 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.
368 violent and 969 property, as reported to the FBI by National City’s police.
36 people died in crashes on National City’s roads in 2019–2023
National City had 34 fatal crashes in five years, in which 36 people died; 13 were pedestrians and 2 were cyclists. Most of these deaths (19 of 36) were on an Interstate passing through, so they say more about through-traffic than about the town’s own streets.
That is 12.2 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.
National City and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| National City | D | 6.6 | 19.1 |
| San Diego | C− | 4.0 | 16.7 |
| Chula Vista | C | 3.6 | 11.5 |
| Bonita | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Bonita 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| National City | D | 6.6 | 19.1 |
| Lincoln | A− | 1.1 | 5.7 |
| Santee | B | 2.4 | 6.7 |
| Cupertino | B− | 1.0 | 14.1 |
| Monterey Park | C− | 2.9 | 20.7 |
| Gardena | D | 6.9 | 30.8 |
The five graded California towns closest to National City’s population (57,807), 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 National City. 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 National City’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (57,748 in 2025); our figure for National City is 57,807 (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 National City
Is National City, CA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, National City reports more crime per resident than 88% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #345 of 416 in California. Its police reported 6.6 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.8 in the rest of California and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in National City?
6.6 violent and 19.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of California reports 4.8 and 21.4; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in National City in 2025?
National City’s police reported 3 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 5.2 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is National City safer than San Diego?
San Diego reports less crime per resident than National City: San Diego grades C− for safety and National City D. San Diego’s police reported 4.0 violent and 16.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices National City?
National City’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “National City”. 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 National City.
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.