South Gate reports more crime per resident than 92% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported to the FBI by South Gate’s police in 2023–2025, it grades D for safety: #371 of 416 graded towns in 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 South Gate
2 of the 3 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 6 California towns on South Gate’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Cudahy (C−), Paramount (D), Lynwood (D). Downey reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2025 but not 2024. Walnut Park and Florence-Graham are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Neighbors ↓
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 Gate’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.
For every 1,000 residents, about 33 property crimes reported
And about 5 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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
South Gate’s police reported 1,383 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 5.1 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the rest of California and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Show as a table
| Year | South Gate | Rest of California | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5.5 | 5.1 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
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 | South Gate property | Rest of California property | South Gate violent | Rest of California violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 32.8 | 24.8 | 5.5 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 35.0 | 24.9 | 5.4 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 36.0 | 20.8 | 5.3 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 32.7 | 18.4 | 4.7 | 4.3 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
3,384 crimes reported in 2025
429 violent and 2,955 property, as reported to the FBI by South Gate’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
27 people died in crashes on South Gate’s roads in 2019–2023
South Gate had 24 fatal crashes in five years, in which 27 people died; 7 were pedestrians and 4 were cyclists. 4 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 5.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for California towns of 25,000–100,000 people (5.6, 231 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.
South Gate and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Gate | D | 5.1 | 34.6 |
| Lynwood | D | 8.0 | 27.5 |
| Paramount | D | 6.4 | 26.6 |
| Downey | — | — | — |
| Walnut Park | — | — | — |
| Cudahy | C− | 5.6 | 14.8 |
| Florence-Graham | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Downey reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2025 but not 2024. Walnut Park and Florence-Graham are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
California towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Gate | D | 5.1 | 34.6 |
| Mission Viejo | B | 1.2 | 11.0 |
| Westminster | C− | 4.0 | 24.2 |
| Carson | D | 4.3 | 27.4 |
| Santa Monica | D− | 7.6 | 45.3 |
| Compton | D− | 12.4 | 30.3 |
The five graded California towns closest to South Gate’s population (90,071), 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 South Gate. 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 South Gate’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (90,349 in 2025); our figure for South Gate is 90,071 (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 Gate
Is South Gate, CA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, South Gate reports more crime per resident than 92% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #371 of 416 in California. Its police reported 5.1 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 Gate?
5.1 violent and 34.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of California reports 4.9 and 21.3; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in South Gate?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in South Gate in 2025?
South Gate’s police reported 5 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 5.5 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is South Gate safer than Lynwood?
Lynwood reports more crime per resident than South Gate: Lynwood grades D for safety and South Gate D. Lynwood’s police reported 8.0 violent and 27.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices South Gate?
South Gate’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “South Gate”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in South Gate.
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.