Costa Mesa, CA Crime Statistics For 2025

Demographics | Crime | Cost Of Living
Updated: 2025-10-24

Crime Rate In Costa Mesa, CA Summary

Crime in Costa Mesa research summary. HomeSnacks has been using Saturday Night Science to report crime data in Costa Mesa over the past eight years using the FBI Crime Explorer. Based on the most recently available data released on October 17, 2023, we found the following about crime in Costa Mesa:

  • There were 3,833 total crimes committed in Costa Mesa in the last reporting year.
  • On a rate basis, there were 3,574.4 total crimes per 100K people in Costa Mesa.
  • The overall crime rate in Costa Mesa is 68.66% above the national average.
  • Costa Mesa ranks #412 safest out of 460 cities in California.
  • Costa Mesa ranks #9,055 safest out of 9,896 cities in the United States.

Because the crime rate is so low in America, we use "per 100,000 people" to make the number a bit easier to compare across locations visually. It's mathematically the same as per capita comparisons and isn't meant to convey that 100,000+ people live in a location.

Additional research about crime in California

Costa Mesa Vs California And National Crime Rates

According to the most recent data from the FBI, the total crime rate in Costa Mesa is 3,574.4 per 100,000 people. That's 68.66% higher than the national rate of 2,119.2 per 100,000 people and 39.38% higher than the California total crime rate of 2,564.5 per 100,000 people.

Statistic Count
Raw
Costa Mesa
/ 100k People
California
/ 100k People
National
/ 100k People
Total Crimes Per 100K 3,833 3,574.4 2,564.5 2,119.2
Murder 3 2.8 4.5 5.0
Robbery 80 74.6 119.1 61.0
Aggravated Assault 642 598.7 325.8 256.0
Violent Crime 791 737.6 486.0 359.0
Burglary 398 371.1 305.8 229.0
Larceny 2,341 2,183.1 1,345.2 1,272.0
Car Theft 303 282.6 427.5 259.0
Property Crime 3,042 2,836.8 2,078.4 1,760.0

Costa Mesa Crime Compared To California Averages

Each category of crime indexed to the worst per capita in California.
Data Source -- FBI UCR 2024.

Violent Crime Rates In Costa Mesa

791
Violent Crimes
737.6
Violent Crimes / 100k People
105.47%
Above The National Average
  • There were 791 violent crimes in Costa Mesa in the last reporting year.
  • The violent crime rate in Costa Mesa is 737.6 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 135.6 chance of being the victim of a violent crime in Costa Mesa each year. That compares to a 1 in 205.8 chance statewide.
  • That's 105.47% higher than the national rate of 359.0 per 100,000 people.
  • And 51.77% higher than the California violent crime rate of 486.0 per 100,000 people.

Property Crime Rates In Costa Mesa

3,042
Property Crimes
2,836.8
Property Crimes / 100k People
61.18%
Above The National Average
  • There were 3,042 property crimes in Costa Mesa in the last reporting year.
  • The property crime rate in Costa Mesa is 2,836.8 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 35.3 chance of being the victim of a property crime in Costa Mesa each year. That compares to a 1 in 0.0 chance nationally.
  • That's 61.18% higher than the national rate of 1,760.0 per 100,000 people.
  • And 36.48% higher than the California property crime rate of 2,078.4 per 100,000 people.

Crime In Cities Around Costa Mesa

City Population Count
Raw
Total Crime
/ 100k People
Property Crime
/ 100k People
Violent Crime
/ 100k People
Irvine, CA 316,764 4,668 1,473.7 1,389.7 84.0
Santa Ana, CA 310,304 6,812 2,195.3 1,702.2 493.1
Huntington Beach, CA 190,081 4,175 2,196.4 1,989.2 207.3
Garden Grove, CA 167,041 3,400 2,035.4 1,758.8 276.6
Orange, CA 137,970 2,089 1,514.1 1,288.0 226.1
Mission Viejo, CA 89,699 1,153 1,285.4 1,186.2 99.2
Westminster, CA 88,026 2,583 2,934.4 2,498.1 436.2
Lake Forest, CA 85,811 837 975.4 829.7 145.7
Newport Beach, CA 81,811 1,738 2,124.4 1,872.6 251.8
Tustin, CA 76,985 1,783 2,316.0 2,104.3 211.7

Costa Mesa SnackAbility

8
/10
Overall SnackAbility
Jobs
8/10
Housing
10
Affordability
3
Diversity
9.5
Safety
4
Amenities
10
Education
8
Commute
8
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