Palo Alto, CA Crime Statistics For 2026

The latest crime statistics for Palo Alto from FBI data. Includes murder, violent, and property crime rates for Palo Alto

Crime in Palo Alto, California

Crime in Palo Alto research summary. HomeSnacks has been using Saturday Night Science to report crime data in Palo Alto over the past 9 years using the FBI Crime Explorer. Based on the most recently available data from the FBI's 2024 Uniform Crime Report, we found the following about crime in Palo Alto:

2,112 Total crimes
3,245.3 Crimes / 100k people
53.13% Vs national average Above The National Average
#396 Safest in California (of 460)
#8,808 Safest in the U.S. (of 9,896)

Additional research about crime in California

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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 3,245.3 per 100,000 people. That's 53.13% higher than the national rate of 2,119.2 per 100,000 people and 26.55% higher than the California total crime rate of 2,564.5 per 100,000 people.

Statistic Count
Raw
Palo Alto
/ 100k People
California
/ 100k People
National
/ 100k People
Total Crimes Per 100K 2,112 3,245.3 2,564.5 2,119.2
Murder 1 1.5 4.5 5.0
Robbery 35 53.8 119.1 61.0
Aggravated Assault 77 118.3 325.8 256.0
Violent Crime 138 212.0 486.0 359.0
Burglary 147 225.9 305.8 229.0
Larceny 1,707 2,623.0 1,345.2 1,272.0
Car Theft 120 184.4 427.5 259.0
Property Crime 1,974 3,033.2 2,078.4 1,760.0

Palo Alto Crime Compared To California Averages

Murder
Palo Alto
California avg
Rape
Palo Alto
California avg
Robbery
Palo Alto
California avg
Aggravated Assault
Palo Alto
California avg
Burglary
Palo Alto
California avg
Larceny
Palo Alto
California avg
Car Theft
Palo Alto
California avg
Arson
Palo Alto
California avg

Each category indexed to the worst per-capita rate in California. Source: FBI UCR 2024.

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Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2024)

Violent Crime Rates In Palo Alto

138Violent Crimes
212.0Violent Crimes / 100k People
-40.93%Below The National Average
Palo Alto
US
  • There were 138 violent crimes in Palo Alto in the last reporting year.
  • The violent crime rate in Palo Alto is 212.0 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 471.6 chance of being the victim of a violent crime in Palo Alto each year. That compares to a 1 in 205.8 chance statewide.
  • That's -40.93% lower than the national rate of 359.0 per 100,000 people.
  • And -56.37% lower than the California violent crime rate of 486.0 per 100,000 people.

Property Crime Rates In Palo Alto

1,974Property Crimes
3,033.2Property Crimes / 100k People
72.34%Above The National Average
Palo Alto
US
  • There were 1,974 property crimes in Palo Alto in the last reporting year.
  • The property crime rate in Palo Alto is 3,033.2 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 33.0 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 72.34% higher than the national rate of 1,760.0 per 100,000 people.
  • And 45.94% higher than the California property crime rate of 2,078.4 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 150,893 3,250 2,153.8 1,909.3 244.5
San Mateo, CA 99,929 2,125 2,126.5 1,883.3 243.2
Mountain View, CA 81,461 2,509 3,080.0 2,773.1 306.9
Cupertino, CA 56,375 946 1,678.0 1,566.3 111.8
Los Altos, CA 29,551 381 1,289.3 1,211.5 77.8
East Palo Alto, CA 27,663 699 2,526.8 1,919.5 607.3
Belmont, CA 26,099 378 1,448.3 1,283.6 164.8
Los Altos Hills, CA 8,092 33 407.8 358.4 49.4
Atherton, CA 6,711 93 1,385.8 1,281.5 104.3

Palo Alto SnackAbility

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