Photo: Dirk Hansen · CC BY-SA 3.0San Diego sees more violent crime per resident than four in five U.S. towns
The rate the grade counts dropped 14% from 2023 to 2025. Of the 8 towns on its borders with figures, 7 record less crime per resident. San Diego’s overall Safety Grade is C− (#245 of 416 graded towns in California, and #131 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000): more crime per resident than 76% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025. Out of every 1,000 residents, 4.0 violent crimes and 16.7 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 4.9 and 21.6 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 San Diego
7 of the 8 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 8 California towns on San Diego’s borders, 8 have a Safety Grade: Poway (B+), Santee (B), Imperial Beach (C+), Lemon Grove (C), Escondido (C), La Mesa (C), Coronado (C), National City (D). Neighbors ↓
Among California towns, closer to the middle
California’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so San Diego’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 ↓
Homicides: below U.S. cities overall
San Diego’s police reported 24 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 2.4 per 100,000 residents a year, below the rest of California (4.2) and below all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: below the rest of California
74.1 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (818 reported in 2025), below the rest of California (125) and about the same as 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, San Diego reports less crime per resident than 60% (#131). 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 San Diego’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 (16.7) 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.
Homicides and robberies
Show as a table
| Year | San Diego | Rest of California | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.8 | 5.7 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 2.9 | 5.0 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 2.5 | 4.3 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 1.7 | 3.5 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | San Diego | Rest of California | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 93.5 | 137 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 87.4 | 144 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 77.4 | 130 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 58.0 | 104 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
San Diego’s police reported 24 homicides, 818 robberies and 5,247 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.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | San Diego property | Rest of California property | San Diego violent | Rest of California violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 18.2 | 25.1 | 4.3 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 18.1 | 25.3 | 4.2 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 16.7 | 21.0 | 4.1 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 15.4 | 18.6 | 3.7 | 4.4 |
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.
Crime in San Diego 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 4 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
26,938 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.
5,247 violent and 21,691 property, as reported to the FBI by San Diego’s police.
225 of the 541 people who died in crashes on San Diego’s roads in 2019–2023 were pedestrians
San Diego had 510 fatal crashes in five years, in which 541 people died. 20 of those killed were cyclists. 177 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 7.8 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for California towns of 100,000+ people (7.7, 76 towns).
Among the 39 U.S. cities of 500,000 or more, San Diego has the 9th lowest rate.
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.
San Diego and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego | C− | 4.0 | 16.7 |
| Poway | B+ | 1.3 | 5.9 |
| Santee | B | 2.4 | 6.7 |
| Escondido | C | 3.8 | 14.9 |
| Lemon Grove | C | 4.6 | 11.2 |
| La Mesa | C | 4.0 | 14.6 |
| Coronado | C | 3.4 | 17.1 |
| National City | D | 6.6 | 19.1 |
| Imperial Beach | C+ | 3.9 | 6.5 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
U.S. cities of a million or more
| City | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego | C− | 4.0 | 16.7 |
| New York City | D | 6.7 | 23.5 |
| Los Angeles | D | 7.4 | 21.9 |
| Chicago | D | 5.2 | 32.8 |
| Houston | D− | 10.4 | 42.0 |
| Phoenix | D | 7.6 | 22.8 |
| Philadelphia | D− | 9.0 | 46.4 |
| San Antonio | D− | 6.0 | 46.3 |
| Dallas | D | 6.3 | 34.7 |
| Fort Worth | D | 4.4 | 25.1 |
| Austin | D | 4.6 | 32.0 |
Every U.S. city of 1,000,000+ with a Safety Grade, largest first; each city’s own police figures, 2023–2025.
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 San Diego. 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 San Diego’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (1,409,432 in 2025); our figure for San Diego is 1,406,106 (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 San Diego
Is San Diego, CA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, San Diego 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 San Diego?
4.0 violent and 16.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of California reports 4.9 and 21.6; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in San Diego in 2025?
San Diego’s police reported 24 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 1.7 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is San Diego safer than Poway?
Poway reports less crime per resident than San Diego: Poway grades B+ for safety and San Diego C−. Poway’s police reported 1.3 violent and 5.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices San Diego?
San Diego’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “San Diego”. 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 San Diego.
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.