'Safest' 73 Cities In California: The Cost of Crime

CALIFORNIA — There are many ways to calculate how safe or dangerous a city is, including how many crimes are committed and the type of crimes. A new study by MoneyGeek takes a different approach — the financial cost of crimes per capita.

The study looked at 303 cities across the nation with populations of more than 100,000 and determined that the cost of crime in those cities in 2019 was $176 billion. This includes the costs of medical and mental health care for victims, damaged and stolen property, and police and corrections costs including courts and jails.

Higher crime rates also lead to higher insurance premiums and lower home values.

MoneyGeek calculated each city's cost of crime and ranked the cities based on the cost of crime per capita.

"Behind all these averages that people like to cite about the crime rates in different communities are individual people and their decisions about how they choose to engage in their community," said Jesse Bruhn, a Brown University assistant professor who researches inner-city gang violence. "There's a lot more heterogeneity in these patterns that we just can't measure."

Here’s a look at the 73 California cities included in the study, with their national ranking and the cost per capita of crime:

1. Thousand Oaks, Nationally Ranked 2, $163
2. Irvine, Nationally Ranked 5, $194
3. Simi Valley, Nationally Ranked 9, $278
4. Santa Clarita, Nationally Ranked, 13, $315
5. Sunnyvale, Nationally Ranked 16, $326
6. Elk Grove, Nationally Ranked 17, $327
7. Fremont, Nationally Ranked 18, $332
8. Temecula, Nationally Ranked 20, $358
9. Daly City, Nationally Ranked 23, $364
10. Santa Clara, Nationally Ranked 26, $390
11. Clovis, Nationally Ranked 31, $426
12. Murrieta, Nationally Ranked 32, $439
13. Burbank, Nationally Ranked 34, $440
14. Orange, Nationally Ranked 36, $456
15. Huntington Beach, Nationally Ranked 38, $464
16. Glendale, Nationally Ranked 40, $467
17. Costa Mesa, Nationally Ranked 50, $524
18. Torrance, Nationally Ranked 53, $537
19. El Monte, Nationally Ranked 57, $579
20. Chula Vista, Nationally Ranked 58, $580
21. Corona, Nationally Ranked 59, $581
22. Roseville, Nationally Ranked 68, $627
23. Fullerton, Nationally Ranked 70, $640
24. San Mateo, Nationally Ranked 74, $651
25. Carlsbad, Nationally Ranked 75, $652
26. Rancho Cucamonga, Nationally Ranked 81, $680
27. Vista, Nationally Ranked 88, $719
28. Anaheim, Nationally Ranked 93, $752
29. Berkeley, Nationally Ranked 95, $769
30. Escondido, Nationally Ranked 98, $791
31. Fontana, Nationally Ranked 99, $809
32. Concord, Nationally Ranked 100, $824
33. Garden Grove, Nationally Ranked 103, $832
34. Downey, Nationally Ranked 108, $853
35. Vacaville, Nationally Ranked 109, $856
36. Oceanside, Nationally Ranked 110, $878
37. Hayward, Nationally Ranked 112, $879
38. Pasadena, Nationally Ranked 114, $926
39. San Diego, Nationally Ranked 115, $927
40. Inglewood, Nationally Ranked 117, $939
41. Ventura, Nationally Ranked 119, $947
42. Santa Rosa, Nationally Ranked 120, $952
43. West Covina, Nationally Ranked 121, $971
44. El Cajon, Nationally Ranked 123, $1,009
45. San Jose, Nationally Ranked 129, $1,044
46. Norwalk, Nationally Ranked 131, $1,047
47. Jurupa Valley, Nationally Ranked 132, $1,049
48. Fairfield, Nationally Ranked 135, $1,063
49. Visalia, Nationally Ranked 137, $1,071
50. Santa Ana, Nationally Ranked 138, $1,076
51. Palmdale, Nationally Ranked 143, $1,113
52. Oxnard, Nationally Ranked 145, $1,142
53. Ontario, Nationally Ranked 147, $1,159
54. Salinas, Nationally Ranked 164, $1,281
55. Riverside, Nationally Ranked 165, $1,304
56. Moreno Valley, Nationally Ranked 168, $1,329
57. San Francisco, Nationally Ranked 174, $1,401
58. Victorville, Nationally Ranked 180, $1,475
59. Long Beach, Nationally Ranked 181, $1,487
60. Sacramento, Nationally Ranked 191, $1,567
61. Lancaster, Nationally Ranked 195, $1,609
62. Los Angeles, Nationally Ranked 197, $1,647
63. Bakersfield, Nationally Ranked 199, $1,672
64. Rialto, Nationally Ranked 201, $1,677
65. Pomona, Nationally Ranked 203, $1,714
66. Fresno, Nationally Ranked 204, $1,717
67. Modesto, Nationally Ranked 206, $1,785
68. Antioch, Nationally Ranked 218, $1,938
69. Vallejo, Nationally Ranked 240, $2,372
70. Richmond, Nationally Ranked 264, $2,793
71. Stockton, Nationally Ranked 268, $2,942
72. Oakland, Nationally Ranked 284, $3,507
73. San Bernardino, Nationally Ranked 291, $3,959

Nationwide, the five safest cities according to MoneyGeek are Arlington, VA; Thousand Oaks; Allen, TX; Cary, NC; Irvine.

And the five least safe according to the study are Memphis, TN; Jackson, MS; Detroit, MI; Baltimore, MD; St. Louis, MO.

The cost of crime per capita in St. Louis is $9,334 compared to $132 in Arlington.

See the complete study and methodology.