Photo: sebi ryffel from Los Angeles · CC BY-SA 2.0Violent crime per resident is lower in San Marino than in 86% of U.S. towns
Each of the 4 towns on its borders with figures records more crime per resident. Overall, San Marino grades B for safety (#68 of 416 graded towns in California): close to the middle of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported in 2023–2025. Add to that, its police logs show 0.5 violent crime and 14.7 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, while in the rest of California the numbers are 4.9 and 21.4.
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 Marino
San Marino reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 6 California towns on San Marino’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: San Gabriel (C), Alhambra (C), South Pasadena (C−), Pasadena (D). East San Gabriel and San Pasqual are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Neighbors ↓
Among California towns, higher
California’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so San Marino’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 84% of the 416 California towns we grade, against 55% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind San Marino’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds San Marino’s grade up; property crime pulls it down. Its property rate (14.7) 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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | San Marino | Rest of California | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.7 | 5.1 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.5 | 5.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.3 | 4.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.6 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
San Marino’s police reported 17 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.5 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the rest of California and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in San Marino 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 1 violent crime, 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 | San Marino property | Rest of California property | San Marino violent | Rest of California violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 14.4 | 24.8 | 0.7 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 14.3 | 25.0 | 0.5 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 11.8 | 20.8 | 0.3 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 18.0 | 18.5 | 0.6 | 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, 2022–2025, against the rest of California.
223 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.
7 violent and 216 property, as reported to the FBI by San Marino’s police.
Two people died in crashes on San Marino’s roads in 2019–2023
San Marino had 2 fatal crashes in five years, in which two people died; 2 were pedestrians.
That is about what is typical for California towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (5.6 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of San Marino’s size would see about 3 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so San Marino’s own rate (3.3) 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.
San Marino and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Marino | B | 0.5 | 14.7 |
| Pasadena | D | 4.8 | 25.3 |
| San Gabriel | C | 2.0 | 19.6 |
| East San Gabriel | — | — | — |
| South Pasadena | C− | 2.2 | 24.1 |
| San Pasqual | — | — | — |
| Alhambra | C | 2.2 | 23.0 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. East San Gabriel and San Pasqual are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
California towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Marino | B | 0.5 | 14.7 |
| Fortuna | B− | 2.1 | 12.0 |
| Scotts Valley | C+ | 2.2 | 14.6 |
| Los Alamitos | C− | 3.3 | 19.4 |
| Tehachapi | C− | 4.6 | 21.5 |
| Commerce | D− | 13.7 | 123.4 |
The five graded California towns closest to San Marino’s population (11,964), 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 San Marino. 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 San Marino’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (12,015 in 2025); our figure for San Marino is 11,964 (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 Marino
Is San Marino, CA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, San Marino reports less crime per resident than 55% of U.S. towns, a B Safety Grade and #68 of 416 in California. Its police reported 0.5 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 Marino?
0.5 violent and 14.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of California reports 4.9 and 21.4; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is San Marino safer than Pasadena?
Pasadena reports more crime per resident than San Marino: Pasadena grades D for safety and San Marino B. Pasadena’s police reported 4.8 violent and 25.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices San Marino?
San Marino’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “San Marino”. 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 Marino.
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.