Photo: Coolcaesar at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0The crimes the grade counts fell 42% per resident in South San Francisco from 2023 to 2025
It has more violent crime than 76% of U.S. towns, and more property crime than 69%. Overall, it grades C for safety (#207 of 416 graded towns in California). Year on year, 3.3 violent crimes and 16.6 incidents of property crime occur per 1,000 residents, compared with 4.9 and 21.4 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 South San Francisco
3 of the 6 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 6 California towns on South San Francisco’s borders, 6 have a Safety Grade: Pacifica (B−), Brisbane (C+), Daly City (C), San Bruno (C), Colma (D−), Oakland (D−). Neighbors ↓
Among California towns, closer to the middle
California’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so South San Francisco’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 50% of the 416 California towns we grade, against 28% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
A job center
South San Francisco has 55,408 jobs based in town for 64,941 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 San Francisco’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 violent rate (3.3) is below the FBI’s national estimate (3.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns. Its property rate (16.6) 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.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | South San Francisco property | Rest of California property | South San Francisco violent | Rest of California violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 28.3 | 24.8 | 3.9 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 22.3 | 25.0 | 3.7 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 15.6 | 20.8 | 3.0 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 12.1 | 18.5 | 3.1 | 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 San Francisco 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 3 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 San Francisco | Rest of California | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 3.7 | 5.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 3.0 | 4.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 3.1 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
South San Francisco’s police reported 618 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 3.3 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the rest of California and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
979 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.
199 violent and 780 property, as reported to the FBI by South San Francisco’s police.
19 people died in crashes on South San Francisco’s roads in 2019–2023
South San Francisco had 19 fatal crashes in five years, in which 19 people died; 7 were pedestrians and 1 was a cyclist. 2 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 San Francisco and its neighbors
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
California towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South San Francisco | C | 3.3 | 16.6 |
| Yorba Linda | B+ | 0.6 | 8.3 |
| Laguna Niguel | B+ | 1.1 | 8.4 |
| Davis | C | 1.9 | 23.1 |
| Union City | C− | 4.5 | 24.0 |
| Lynwood | D | 8.0 | 27.5 |
The five graded California towns closest to South San Francisco’s population (64,941), 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 San Francisco. 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 San Francisco’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (64,363 in 2025); our figure for South San Francisco is 64,941 (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 San Francisco
Is South San Francisco, CA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, South San Francisco reports more crime per resident than 72% of U.S. towns, a C Safety Grade and #207 of 416 in California. Its police reported 3.3 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 San Francisco?
3.3 violent and 16.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of California reports 4.9 and 21.4; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in South San Francisco in 2025?
South San Francisco’s police reported 0 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 0.0 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is South San Francisco safer than San Bruno?
San Bruno reports more crime per resident than South San Francisco: San Bruno grades C for safety and South San Francisco C. San Bruno’s police reported 2.9 violent and 18.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices South San Francisco?
South San Francisco’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “South San Francisco”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in South San Francisco.
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.