Murders Per Capita By City In California For 2024


The cities with the most murder per capita in California are Commerce and San Bernardino for 2024.

By: Chris Kolmar | About RoadSnacks
Last Updated: January 11, 2024

Do you live in one of the murder capitals of California?

We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.

To find the cities in California with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the FBI crime data on murders for the 239 cities in the Golden State with over 5,000 residents.

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

Cities With Highest Murder Rate In California Map

What city has the highest murder rate in California? The city with the highest murder rate in California is Commerce with 50.9 murders per 100,000 people.

What is the city in California with highest number of murders? The city in California with the highest number of murders is Los Angeles with 387 murders.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in California ranked. There were ‘only’ 239 cities in California where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 180 places had no murder.

For more reading on the Golden State check out:

The 10 Murder Capitals Of California For 2024

1. Commerce

Commerce Location In California

Commerce, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Justefrain | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 11,787
Murders: 6 (49th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 50.9 (Most)
More on Commerce: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

2. San Bernardino

San Bernardino Location In California

San Bernardino, CA

Source: Flickr User MOHSEN.WISE | CC BY 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 222,623
Murders: 72 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 32.3 (2nd Most)
More on San Bernardino: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

3. Exeter

Exeter Location In California

Exeter, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Bobak Ha’Eri | CC BY 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 10,318
Murders: 3 (10Most)
Murders Per 100k: 29.1 (3rd Most)
More on Exeter: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

4. Oakland

Oakland Location In California

Oakland, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Basil D Soufi | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 428,374
Murders: 121 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 28.2 (4th Most)
More on Oakland: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

5. Barstow

Barstow Location In California

Barstow, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Amin Eshaiker | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 25,465
Murders: 6 (49th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 23.6 (5th Most)
More on Barstow: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

6. Hawaiian Gardens

Hawaiian Gardens Location In California

Hawaiian Gardens, CA

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 13,510
Murders: 3 (10Most)
Murders Per 100k: 22.2 (6th Most)
More on Hawaiian Gardens: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

7. Coachella

Coachella Location In California

Coachella, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Visitor7 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 43,065
Murders: 9 (32nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 20.9 (7th Most)
More on Coachella: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

8. Compton

Compton Location In California

Compton, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Epolk at English Wikipedia | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 91,625
Murders: 19 (13th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 20.7 (8th Most)
More on Compton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

9. McFarland

McFarland Location In California

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 14,755
Murders: 3 (10Most)
Murders Per 100k: 20.3 (9th Most)
More on Mcfarland: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

10. Livingston

Livingston Location In California

Livingston, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Publichall | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 14,897
Murders: 3 (10Most)
Murders Per 100k: 20.1 (10th Most)
More on Livingston: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of California

While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we wanted to rely on something other than speculation and opinion. Instead, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which summarizes the number of murders in each city annually.

We only looked at every single city in California for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 239 cities to rank.

We took the number of murders per capita as the ranking factor. The place with the most murders per capita based on the most recent data is Commerce. It is our tenth time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in California. We updated the list for 2024.

Most Dangerous Cities In America

Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In California For 2024

If you’re looking at the places in California with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.

The cities with the highest murder per capita in California are Commerce, San Bernardino, Exeter, Oakland, Barstow, Hawaiian Gardens, Coachella, Compton, McFarland, and Livingston.

For more California reading, check out:

Murder Rates By City In California

RankCityPopulationMurdersMurders/100K
1Commerce, CA11787650.9
2San Bernardino, CA2226237232.34
3Exeter, CA10318329.08
4Oakland, CA42837412128.25
5Barstow, CA25465623.56
6Hawaiian Gardens, CA13510322.21
7Coachella, CA43065920.9
8Compton, CA916251920.74
9McFarland, CA14755320.33
10Livingston, CA14897320.14
11Big Bear, CA5085119.67
12Big Bear, CA5305118.85
13East Palo Alto, CA27800517.99
14Vallejo, CA1239402217.75
15Inglewood, CA1028791716.52
16Santa Fe Springs, CA18282316.41
17Banning, CA31050516.1
18Atwater, CA32157515.55
19Oroville, CA19868315.1
20Stockton, CA3235014814.84
21King City, CA13518214.8
22Richmond, CA1150431714.78
23Gridley, CA7349113.61
24Corcoran, CA22609313.27
25Bell Gardens, CA37720513.26
26Baldwin Park, CA69205913.0
27Colton, CA54597712.82
28National City, CA55676712.57
29Maywood, CA24040312.48
30Lynwood, CA64142812.47
31Tulare, CA72303912.45
32Victorville, CA1371691712.39
33Desert Hot Springs, CA32923412.15
34Susanville, CA16493212.13
35Soledad, CA24811312.09
36Ukiah, CA16764211.93
37Reedley, CA25269311.87
38Lompoc, CA43363511.53
39Blythe, CA17853211.2
40Fresno, CA5468716111.15
41Palmdale, CA1623161811.09
42Lemon Grove, CA27208311.03
43Palm Springs, CA45463511.0
44Highland, CA57248610.48
45Azusa, CA47754510.47
46Arcata, CA19144210.45
47Sacramento, CA5266715410.25
48Los Angeles, CA380918238710.16
49Pomona, CA145600149.62
50Porterville, CA6286569.54
51Huntington Park, CA5250759.52
52Bell, CA3214039.33
53Morro Bay, CA1080719.25
54Bakersfield, CA411873389.23
55Fairfield, CA119583119.2
56Cudahy, CA2180729.17
57Downey, CA109226109.16
58Placerville, CA1095119.13
59Santa Maria, CA109518109.13
60El Centro, CA4407649.08
61Arvin, CA2214929.03
62Cathedral City, CA5541759.02
63Healdsburg, CA1122918.91
64Claremont, CA3506838.55
65Newark, CA4686148.54
66La Habra, CA6208258.05
67Long Beach, CA447528368.04
68Salinas, CA162187138.02
69Loma Linda, CA2535027.89
70Antioch, CA11433897.87
71Marysville, CA1271117.87
72Montclair, CA3820337.85
73Paramount, CA5140547.78
74Kingsburg, CA1287917.76
75Lancaster, CA167481137.76
76Imperial Beach, CA2593327.71
77Indio, CA9160477.64
78Carson, CA9202177.61
79Benicia, CA2659927.52
80Eureka, CA2665627.5
81Grass Valley, CA1389517.2
82San Francisco, CA764693557.19
83Hawthorne, CA8428367.12
84Ridgecrest, CA2829027.07
85Whittier, CA8507467.05
86Red Bluff, CA1452916.88
87Parlier, CA1476016.78
88Pico Rivera, CA5955746.72
89California City, CA1513816.61
90Hemet, CA9104666.59
91Merced, CA9219166.51
92Artesia, CA1560816.41
93Upland, CA7943056.29
94Visalia, CA14413796.24
95Perris, CA8078456.19
96El Segundo, CA1655016.04
97Clearlake, CA1690115.92
98Lodi, CA6820745.86
99Laguna Woods, CA1724915.8
100Hayward, CA15645895.75
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

 Murder, Rankings

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