Palo Alto, CA Crime Statistics For 2023

Demographics | Crime | Cost Of Living
Updated: 2023-10-25

Crime Rate In Palo Alto, CA Summary

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

  • There were 2,079 total crimes committed in Palo Alto the last reporting year.
  • On a rate basis, there were 3,202.3 total crimes per 100K people in Palo Alto.
  • The overall crime rate in Palo Alto is 37.78% above the national average.
  • Palo Alto ranks #362 safest out of 462 cities in California.
  • Palo Alto ranks #8,348 safest out of 9,869 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 doing per capita comparisons and isn't conveying that there are 100,000+ people in a location.

Additional research about crime in California

Palo Alto Vs California And National Crime Rates

According to the most recent data from the FBI, the total crime rate in Palo Alto is 3,202.3 per 100,000 people. That's 37.78% higher than the national rate of 2,324.2 per 100,000 people and 24.07% higher than the California total crime rate of 2,581.0 per 100,000 people.

Statistic Count
Raw
Palo Alto
/ 100k People
California
/ 100k People
National
/ 100k People
Total Crimes Per 100K 2,079 3,202.3 2,581.0 2,324.2
Murder 0 0.0 5.6 6.3
Robbery 45 69.3 113.6 66.1
Aggravated Assault 67 103.2 288.7 268.2
Violent Crime 134 206.4 442.0 369.8
Burglary 147 226.4 369.7 269.8
Larceny 1,688 2,600.0 1,341.7 1,401.9
Car Theft 110 169.4 427.6 282.7
Property Crime 1,945 2,995.9 2,138.9 1,954.4

Palo Alto Crime Compared To California Averages

Each category of crime indexed to the worst per capita in California.
Data Source -- FBI UCR 2022.

Violent Crime Rates In Palo Alto

134
Violent Crimes
206.4
Violent Crimes / 100k People
-44.19%
Below The National Average
  • There were 134 violent crimes in Palo Alto in the last reporting year.
  • The violent crime rate in Palo Alto is 206.4 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 484.5 chance of being the victim of a violent crime in Palo Alto each year. That compares to a 1 in 226.2 chance statewide.
  • That's -44.19% lower than the national rate of 369.8 per 100,000 people.
  • -53.31% lower than the California violent crime rate of 442.0 per 100,000 people.

Property Crime Rates In Palo Alto

1,945
Property Crimes
2,995.9
Property Crimes / 100k People
53.29%
Above The National Average
  • There were 1,945 property crimes in Palo Alto in the last reporting year.
  • The property crime rate in Palo Alto is 2,995.9 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 33.4 chance of being the victim of a property crime in Palo Alto each year. That compares to a 1 in 0.0 chance nationally.
  • That's 53.29% higher than the national rate of 1,954.4 per 100,000 people.
  • And 40.07% higher than the California property crime rate of 2,138.9 per 100,000 people.

Crime In Cities Around Palo Alto

City Population Count
Raw
Total Crime
/ 100k People
Property Crime
/ 100k People
Violent Crime
/ 100k People
Sunnyvale, CA 148,739 3,980 2,675.8 2,456.7 219.2
San Mateo, CA 99,184 2,632 2,653.7 2,349.2 304.5
Mountain View, CA 80,588 2,609 3,237.5 2,960.7 276.7
Cupertino, CA 56,950 824 1,446.9 1,331.0 115.9
Los Altos, CA 29,847 380 1,273.2 1,206.2 67.0
East Palo Alto, CA 27,800 821 2,953.2 2,312.9 640.3
Belmont, CA 26,277 411 1,564.1 1,411.9 152.2
Los Altos Hills, CA 8,084 79 977.2 952.5 24.7
Atherton, CA 6,704 83 1,238.1 1,148.6 89.5

Palo Alto SnackAbility

9.5
/10
Overall SnackAbility
Jobs
9/10
Housing
10
Affordability
5
Diversity
9
Safety
6
Amenities
9
Education
9.5
Commute
8
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