South El Monte records more crime per resident than 92% of U.S. towns
Per resident, the graded crimes were down 27% from 2023 to 2025. By contrast, its Safety Grade is D, on crimes South El Monte’s police reported from 2023 to 2025: #371 of 416 graded towns in California. Typical years here bring 5.4 violent crimes plus 32.1 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 4.9 plus 21.4 in the rest of California. Both towns next door with figures record 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 South El Monte
2 of the 2 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 2 California towns on South El Monte’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: El Monte (C−), Rosemead (C−). Neighbors ↓
A job center
South El Monte has 13,936 jobs based in town for 18,963 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read 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 South El Monte’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 per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | South El Monte property | Rest of California property | South El Monte violent | Rest of California violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 44.5 | 24.8 | 6.5 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 37.6 | 24.9 | 5.9 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 32.3 | 20.8 | 4.7 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 26.1 | 18.5 | 5.5 | 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.
Crime in South El Monte 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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | South El Monte | Rest of California | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 6.5 | 5.1 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 5.9 | 5.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 5.5 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
South El Monte’s police reported 308 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 5.4 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the rest of California and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
601 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.
104 violent and 497 property, as reported to the FBI by South El Monte’s police.
Seven people died in crashes on South El Monte’s roads in 2019–2023
South El Monte had 7 fatal crashes in five years, in which seven people died; 3 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 South El Monte’s size would see about 5 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so South El Monte’s own rate (7.3) 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.
South El Monte and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South El Monte | D | 5.4 | 32.1 |
| El Monte | C− | 4.2 | 19.9 |
| Rosemead | C− | 3.9 | 24.5 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
California towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South El Monte | D | 5.4 | 32.1 |
| Agoura Hills | B | 1.5 | 10.3 |
| Chowchilla | C | 5.3 | 10.0 |
| Albany | C− | 1.7 | 25.7 |
| Arcata | C− | 4.9 | 18.0 |
| Santa Fe Springs | D− | 8.7 | 62.0 |
The five graded California towns closest to South El Monte’s population (18,963), 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 South El Monte. 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 South El Monte’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (19,016 in 2025); our figure for South El Monte is 18,963 (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 South El Monte
Is South El Monte, CA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, South El Monte reports more crime per resident than 92% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #371 of 416 in California. Its police reported 5.4 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 South El Monte?
5.4 violent and 32.1 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 South El Monte safer than El Monte?
El Monte reports less crime per resident than South El Monte: El Monte grades C− for safety and South El Monte D. El Monte’s police reported 4.2 violent and 19.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices South El Monte?
South El Monte’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “South El Monte”. 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 South El Monte.
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.