Photo: VitaleBaby at en.wikipedia · Public domainPer resident, California records more violent crime than 82% of U.S. towns
Overall, it grades C for safety (#487 of 578 graded towns in Pennsylvania). On top of that, recorded violent crimes ran at 4.0 per 1,000 residents a year and property crime at 10.4, against 2.9 and 17.5 in the rest of Pennsylvania. 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 PA” is every other Pennsylvania 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 California
2 of the 2 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 4 Pennsylvania towns on California’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: West Pike Run Township (A+), Centerville (A). Jefferson Township and Fallowfield Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Among Pennsylvania towns, lower
Pennsylvania’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so California’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 16% of the 578 Pennsylvania towns we grade, against 33% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
A college town
California is home to Pennsylvania Western University, with 7,576 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 43% of residents are enrolled in college (Census). Students who live in town count as residents, so they are part of the per-resident rate. How to read it ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind California’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Property crime holds California’s grade up; violent crime pulls it down.
Crime in California 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 | California | Rest of Pennsylvania | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2.1 | 6.9 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 4.7 | 3.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 4.0 | 2.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
California’s police reported 60 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 4.0 per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.9 in the rest of Pennsylvania and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | California property | Rest of Pennsylvania property | California violent | Rest of Pennsylvania violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 7.2 | 30.3 | 2.1 | 6.9 |
| 2023 | 12.0 | 19.1 | 4.7 | 3.2 |
| 2024 | 11.7 | 17.4 | 4.0 | 2.9 |
| 2025 | 7.0 | 16.1 | 3.3 | 2.6 |
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 Pennsylvania.
47 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. 2025 figures come from Pennsylvania State Police UCR, which publishes violent crime, homicides, robberies and property crime only.
15 violent and 32 property, as reported to the FBI by California’s police.
Three people died in crashes on California’s roads in 2019–2023
California had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which three people died.
That is about what is typical for Pennsylvania towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (7.1 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of California’s size would see about 2 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so California’s own rate (12.3) 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.
California and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | C | 4.0 | 10.4 |
| West Pike Run Township | A+ | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Centerville | A | 0.2 | 3.9 |
| Jefferson Township | — | — | — |
| Fallowfield Township | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Jefferson Township and Fallowfield Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
Pennsylvania towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | C | 4.0 | 10.4 |
| West Penn Township | A | 0.4 | 5.3 |
| Montoursville | B | 0.5 | 12.4 |
| Granville Township | C+ | 0.6 | 19.7 |
| West Reading | C− | 4.3 | 19.5 |
| Arnold | D | 8.7 | 14.1 |
The five graded Pennsylvania towns closest to California’s population (4,615), 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 California. 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 California’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (4,570 in 2025); our figure for California is 4,615 (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 California
Is California, PA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, California reports more crime per resident than 67% of U.S. towns, a C Safety Grade and #487 of 578 in Pennsylvania. Its police reported 4.0 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.9 in the rest of Pennsylvania and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in California?
4.0 violent and 10.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Pennsylvania reports 2.9 and 17.5; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is California safer than West Pike Run Township?
West Pike Run Township reports less crime per resident than California: West Pike Run Township grades A+ for safety and California C. West Pike Run Township’s police reported 0.0 violent and 0.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices California?
California’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “California Police Department”. 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 California.
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.