Orange County crime: the official numbers
Every police agency in California reports its crimes to the state Department of Justice, which publishes them on OpenJustice in the Crimes and Clearances file. 2025 is the latest full year. Adding up every agency in Orange County, including the 21 city police departments, the Sheriff's Department, the CHP's Orange County offices and the campus police at UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton, gives these countywide counts.
| Year | Violent crimes | Property crimes | Burglary | Vehicle theft | Larceny-theft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 7,275 | 66,054 | 11,025 | 8,522 | 46,507 |
| 2017 | 7,627 | 65,638 | 10,196 | 8,835 | 46,607 |
| 2018 | 7,362 | 61,590 | 9,485 | 7,579 | 44,526 |
| 2019 | 6,797 | 59,186 | 8,529 | 6,701 | 43,956 |
| 2020 | 7,340 | 61,066 | 9,427 | 9,040 | 42,599 |
| 2021 | 8,144 | 58,821 | 9,090 | 8,480 | 41,251 |
| 2022 | 8,955 | 59,875 | 10,304 | 8,480 | 41,091 |
| 2023 | 9,340 | 57,933 | 9,896 | 7,841 | 40,196 |
| 2024 | 9,757 | 53,008 | 7,616 | 6,643 | 38,749 |
| 2025 | 8,367 | 41,934 | 5,888 | 5,026 | 31,020 |
Violent crime is homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. In 2025 Orange County agencies reported 46 homicides, 743 rapes, 1,591 robberies and 5,987 aggravated assaults. Property crime is burglary, motor vehicle theft and larceny-theft.
Orange County crime rate per 100,000 residents
Using the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 population estimate of 3,165,820, the county's 2025 violent crime rate works out to about 264 per 100,000 residents and its property crime rate to about 1,325. Statewide, the same file and population source give about 434 violent and 1,797 property crimes per 100,000. Neighboring counties on the same basis: Los Angeles County about 545 violent and 2,258 property, San Diego County about 318 and 1,191, Riverside County about 280 and 1,553. These are our calculations from the DOJ counts.
Which way Orange County crime is moving
The two main measures have gone in opposite directions. Property crime fell 37% from 2016 to 2025, from 66,054 to 41,934, and residential burglaries fell from 5,753 to 2,089, a 64% drop. Violent crime rose from a low of 6,797 in 2019 to a peak of 9,757 in 2024, then fell 14% to 8,367 in 2025, still 23% above 2019. The rise came from aggravated assaults, up from 3,637 in 2019 to 5,987 in 2025, while robberies fell from 2,209 to 1,591 and homicides from 57 to 46. The DOJ file does not explain changes; reporting practices, including agencies' moves to the national incident-based reporting system, can shift counts, so ask the agency serving an area about its own trend.
How many Orange County crimes are cleared
The same file counts clearances, usually an arrest. In 2025 Orange County agencies cleared 4,412 violent crimes and 5,859 property crimes. Measured against the year's reports, that is about 53% of violent crimes and 14% of property crimes, though some clearances relate to crimes reported in earlier years.
Crime rates by Orange County city, 2025
Orange County has 34 cities. Most run their own police department; 13 contract with the Orange County Sheriff's Department, which also patrols the unincorporated areas. The Sheriff's patrol command says it serves about 800,000 residents in those 13 cities and the unincorporated county. The DOJ file reports contract cities under their own names, and the row "Orange Co. Sheriff's Department" covers only unincorporated areas. Rates are our calculations: 2025 DOJ counts divided by each city's Census 2020-2024 population. Cities are listed alphabetically, not ranked.
| City | Population | Violent crimes | Violent per 100,000 | Property crimes | Property per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aliso Viejo (Sheriff) | 51,113 | 60 | 117 | 308 | 603 |
| Anaheim | 344,521 | 1,877 | 545 | 6,002 | 1,742 |
| Brea | 47,469 | 87 | 183 | 1,061 | 2,235 |
| Buena Park | 82,871 | 232 | 280 | 1,639 | 1,978 |
| Costa Mesa | 110,330 | 584 | 529 | 2,254 | 2,043 |
| Cypress | 49,498 | 147 | 297 | 590 | 1,192 |
| Dana Point (Sheriff) | 32,790 | 54 | 165 | 276 | 842 |
| Fountain Valley | 56,258 | 99 | 176 | 881 | 1,566 |
| Fullerton | 140,968 | 528 | 375 | 2,390 | 1,695 |
| Garden Grove | 170,964 | 416 | 243 | 1,845 | 1,079 |
| Huntington Beach | 195,240 | 350 | 179 | 2,783 | 1,425 |
| Irvine | 311,690 | 251 | 81 | 3,676 | 1,179 |
| La Habra | 61,970 | 157 | 253 | 855 | 1,380 |
| La Palma | 15,272 | 24 | 157 | 184 | 1,205 |
| Laguna Beach | 22,710 | 42 | 185 | 240 | 1,057 |
| Laguna Hills (Sheriff) | 30,740 | 66 | 215 | 254 | 826 |
| Laguna Niguel (Sheriff) | 64,139 | 72 | 112 | 410 | 639 |
| Laguna Woods (Sheriff) | 17,289 | 12 | 69 | 107 | 619 |
| Lake Forest (Sheriff) | 86,281 | 144 | 167 | 606 | 702 |
| Los Alamitos | 11,794 | 31 | 263 | 187 | 1,586 |
| Mission Viejo (Sheriff) | 92,151 | 107 | 116 | 779 | 845 |
| Newport Beach | 83,845 | 211 | 252 | 1,267 | 1,511 |
| Orange | 138,266 | 269 | 195 | 1,278 | 924 |
| Placentia | 52,826 | 131 | 248 | 641 | 1,213 |
| Rancho Santa Margarita (Sheriff) | 46,990 | 50 | 106 | 207 | 441 |
| San Clemente (Sheriff) | 63,273 | 103 | 163 | 537 | 849 |
| San Juan Capistrano (Sheriff) | 35,095 | 59 | 168 | 252 | 718 |
| Santa Ana | 312,534 | 1,054 | 337 | 4,126 | 1,320 |
| Seal Beach | 24,722 | 93 | 376 | 614 | 2,484 |
| Stanton (Sheriff) | 39,402 | 138 | 350 | 487 | 1,236 |
| Tustin | 78,981 | 168 | 213 | 1,486 | 1,881 |
| Villa Park (Sheriff) | 5,748 | 3 | 52 | 35 | 609 |
| Westminster | 89,860 | 297 | 331 | 1,782 | 1,983 |
| Yorba Linda (Sheriff) | 67,170 | 31 | 46 | 389 | 579 |
| Unincorporated areas (Sheriff) | about 131,000 | 366 | about 279 | 710 | about 542 |
| Orange County total | 3,165,820 | 8,367 | 264 | 41,934 | 1,325 |
| California | 39,287,377 | 170,397 | 434 | 705,925 | 1,797 |
The unincorporated population is an estimate: the county total less the 34 cities. It covers places such as Ladera Ranch, Rancho Mission Viejo, Coto de Caza, North Tustin, Rossmoor and the canyons. Because the population is derived, treat that row as rough.
Reading the city table with care
Small cities swing from year to year. Villa Park, with about 5,700 residents, reported 3 violent crimes in 2025, and Laguna Beach went from 114 violent crimes in 2023 to 37 in 2024 and 42 in 2025. Costa Mesa moved the other way, from 414 in 2023 to 791 in 2024, then fell to 584 in 2025. A single year's rate in a city under 50,000 people can change by half on a few dozen incidents. Look at five or more years before you draw a conclusion, and remember that cities with large shopping centers, beaches or theme parks count crimes against visitors and businesses in a rate divided only by residents.
What about the safest neighborhoods in Orange County?
No official source we found publishes crime rates by neighborhood across Orange County. The state file reports one total per agency, so a city of 300,000 people gets one number. Lists of "safest neighborhoods" on other sites are built from private models, not police counts, so we don't rank neighborhoods or call any area safe or unsafe. What you can do is look at reported incidents around a specific address, with the tools below, and compare cities on the same official data.
How to check crime near an Orange County address
CrimeMapping for Sheriff-patrolled cities and unincorporated areas
The Sheriff's Department publishes reported crime on CrimeMapping.com for its 13 contract cities, for unincorporated north and south county, and for its Harbor Patrol. The department says residents can search 15 types of crime by address, landmark or ZIP code and set up alerts, and that the data is preliminary and updated every 24 hours. Look at six to twelve months and at the types of incidents, not just the count.
City police department maps and reports
The 21 cities with their own police departments, including Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, Huntington Beach and Garden Grove, publish their own crime maps, reports or press releases. Search the department's site for its crime map or statistics page, or call its records unit. The Sheriff's non-emergency dispatch line for county-patrolled areas is 714-647-7000.
California DOJ OpenJustice
OpenJustice publishes the Crimes and Clearances file used on this page, for every agency back to 1985. Download it to compare the cities on your list over the same years.
FBI Crime Data Explorer
The FBI's Crime Data Explorer shows each agency's reports to the national system. Its figures can differ from the state file because of timing and definitions, so don't mix the two in one comparison.
Megan's Law search
The California DOJ's Megan's Law site maps registered sex offenders whose addresses the law allows to be shown. Search the address and the routes you would use every day.
County records for property fraud
Crime against a home is not only break-ins. The Orange County Clerk-Recorder warns that a missing property tax bill or recorded documents you know nothing about can be signs of deed fraud, and suggests checking its online grantor-grantee index for recorded transactions that affect your property.
Fire, flood and storms are risks too
Wildfire: the October 2026 Norte Fire
The Orange County Fire Authority reported that the Norte Fire burned 570 acres in October 2026 and led to evacuation orders in parts of San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano before it was fully contained on October 23; when the orders were lifted, OCFA said the burn scar remained an active fire hazard area, closed until further notice. Check any address against the state fire hazard severity zones, which also appear on the natural hazard disclosure. OCFA's Ready, Set, Go program offers a wildfire home assessment, and it notes that homes sold in High or Very High fire hazard severity zones need a defensible space inspection. See our California wildfire zones guide.
El Niño storms and coastal flooding
The County of Orange opened an El Niño emergency-response site in October 2026, after the Governor proclaimed a statewide emergency to prepare for what forecasters said could become the strongest El Niño on record. The county Treasurer-Tax Collector has offered payment deferral for owners whose homes were damaged by recent coastal flooding and fires, through the Assessor's reassessment application. Look up the FEMA flood zone and the tsunami hazard area for any coastal or canyon address, and ask about past flood claims.
Earthquakes and alerts
The state's EQ Zapp tool shows whether a parcel is in an earthquake fault, liquefaction or landslide zone, and Cal OES MyHazards shows fire, flood, earthquake and tsunami layers for one address. Sign up for AlertOC, the county's emergency notification system, through ReadyOC. For insurance, see our earthquake insurance guide and the homeowners insurance guide.
Before you buy or rent in Orange County: a checklist
- Find out whether the address is in a city with its own police department, a Sheriff contract city or unincorporated county.
- Search the address on the right crime map for the last 6 to 12 months and note the incident types.
- Compare the city's DOJ counts over five or more years with the other cities on your list.
- Visit at night and on a weekend.
- Check the Megan's Law map.
- Look up the fire hazard severity zone, FEMA flood zone, tsunami area and EQ Zapp zones, and get insurance quotes before you remove contingencies.
- If there is an HOA, read recent board minutes for security, gate and patrol issues.
For prices by city and ZIP, see the Orange County ZIP code guide and the Orange County neighborhoods guide. For the statewide view, see our California crime data guide. If you are moving here, the Orange County relocation guide covers alerts, utilities and first steps.