Photo: Robert Hsiao · CC BY-SA 4.0Oakland reports more crime per resident than almost every U.S. town
On crimes reported to the FBI by Oakland’s police in 2023–2025, it grades D− for safety: #414 of 416 graded towns in California, and #325 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000.
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 Oakland
6 of the 7 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 8 California towns on Oakland’s borders, 7 have a Safety Grade: Brisbane (C+), South San Francisco (C), Hayward (D), Alameda (D), San Leandro (D), Berkeley (D−), Emeryville (D−). Castro Valley is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Oakland’s police reported 55 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 19.5 per 100,000 residents a year, 4.9 times the rest of California (4.0) and 3.4 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 5.6 times the rest of California
654 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (1,743 reported in 2025), 5.6 times the rest of California (116) and 8.2 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Oakland reports less crime per resident than 0% (#325). Places like 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 Oakland’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; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical.
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 | Oakland property | Rest of California property | Oakland violent | Rest of California violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 64.7 | 24.2 | 15.2 | 5.0 |
| 2023 | 101.2 | 23.9 | 36.4 | 4.9 |
| 2024 | 72.3 | 20.1 | 19.3 | 4.7 |
| 2025 | 52.3 | 18.0 | 14.8 | 4.2 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Homicides and robberies
Oakland’s police reported 55 homicides, 1,743 robberies and 6,554 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of California and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Show as a table
| Year | Oakland | Rest of California | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 28.2 | 5.3 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 27.7 | 4.6 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 18.6 | 4.0 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 12.4 | 3.3 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Oakland | Rest of California | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 639 | 128 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 900 | 131 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 680 | 120 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 392 | 97.6 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 52 property crimes reported
And about 15 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.
29,766 crimes reported in 2025
6,554 violent and 23,212 property, as reported to the FBI by Oakland’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
180 people died in crashes on Oakland’s roads in 2019–2023
Oakland had 173 fatal crashes in five years, in which 180 people died; 70 were pedestrians and 6 were cyclists. 70 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 8.2 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for California towns of 100,000+ people (7.7, 76 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.
Oakland and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland | D− | 23.3 | 74.9 |
| Berkeley | D− | 6.5 | 50.8 |
| San Leandro | D | 5.8 | 42.8 |
| Alameda | D | 3.4 | 46.8 |
| Emeryville | D− | 11.6 | 132.7 |
| Castro Valley | — | — | — |
| Hayward | D | 5.3 | 34.0 |
| South San Francisco | C | 3.3 | 16.6 |
| Brisbane | C+ | 2.5 | 14.3 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Castro Valley 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland | D− | 23.3 | 74.9 |
| Anaheim | D | 6.0 | 21.1 |
| Bakersfield | D | 6.4 | 26.7 |
| Long Beach | D | 6.4 | 30.0 |
| Sacramento | D | 7.6 | 25.6 |
| Fresno | D | 7.3 | 29.6 |
The five graded California towns closest to Oakland’s population (440,838), 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 Oakland. 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 Oakland’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (444,211 in 2025); our figure for Oakland is 440,838 (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 Oakland
Is Oakland, CA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Oakland reports more crime per resident than 100% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade and #414 of 416 in California. Its police reported 23.3 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.6 in the rest of California and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Oakland?
23.3 violent and 74.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of California reports 4.6 and 20.6; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Oakland?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Oakland in 2025?
Oakland’s police reported 55 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 12.4 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Oakland safer than Berkeley?
Berkeley reports less crime per resident than Oakland: Berkeley grades D− for safety and Oakland D−. Berkeley’s police reported 6.5 violent and 50.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Oakland?
Oakland’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Oakland”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Oakland.
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.