Photo: Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0Crime per resident in Nevada City runs higher than in 97% of U.S. towns
It has more violent crime than 99% of U.S. towns, and more property crime than 62%. On top of that, that puts it at D− for safety, judged on crimes Nevada City’s police reported from 2023 to 2025: #403 of 416 graded towns in California. The yearly rates were 15.4 violent crimes and 14.1 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 4.8 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 Nevada City
A job center
Nevada City has 3,332 jobs based in town for 3,174 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Nevada 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. Its property rate (14.1) 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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Nevada City | Rest of California | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 12.3 | 5.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 17.5 | 4.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 16.2 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Nevada City’s police reported 147 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 15.4 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 Nevada 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 16 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Nevada City property | Rest of California property | Nevada City violent | Rest of California violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 13.9 | 25.0 | 12.3 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 12.3 | 20.8 | 17.5 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 16.2 | 18.5 | 16.2 | 4.3 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2023–2025, against the rest of California.
104 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.
52 violent and 52 property, as reported to the FBI by Nevada City’s police.
One person died in crashes on Nevada City’s roads in 2019–2023
Nevada City had 1 fatal crash in five years, in which one person died.
That is about what is typical for California towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (7.0 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Nevada City’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Nevada City’s own rate (6.3) 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.
Nevada City and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada City | D− | 15.4 | 14.1 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
California towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada City | D− | 15.4 | 14.1 |
| Yountville | A | 0.8 | 3.1 |
| Lake Shastina | A− | 1.6 | 2.2 |
| Mount Shasta | C+ | 4.8 | 4.9 |
| Rio Dell | C | 3.4 | 14.5 |
| Avalon | C− | 6.5 | 9.1 |
The five graded California towns closest to Nevada City’s population (3,174), 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 Nevada City. 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 Nevada City’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (3,206 in 2025); our figure for Nevada City is 3,174 (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 Nevada City
Is Nevada City, CA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Nevada City reports more crime per resident than 97% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade and #403 of 416 in California. Its police reported 15.4 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 Nevada City?
15.4 violent and 14.1 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.
Who polices Nevada City?
Nevada City’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Nevada 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 Nevada 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.