SJ in bottom half of U.S. cities in terms of violent crime

Violent Crime per Capita in San Jose. Image by CrimeGrade.org.

City gets a C- grade on violent and property crime, though it scores better on other types of crimes. Geographic inequities abound. Crimegrade.org reports.

The C- grade indicates that the rate of violent crime is slightly higher than that of the average US city. San Jose ranks in the 34th percentile for safety, meaning it is safer than 34% of cities but less safe than 66%. This analysis applies only to the San Jose area's official city boundaries. 

The violent crime rate in the San Jose area is 3.711 per 1,000 residents in the typical year. The San Jose area residents generally consider the west part of the city to be the safest.Your chance of being a victim of violent crime in the San Jose area varies by neighborhood – ranging from 1 in 187 in the central neighborhoods to 1 in 453 in the west.

When looking at total crime counts (rather than per capita rates), the central parts of San Jose, CA see the most incidents – about 1,656 per year. In contrast, the southwest part of the city has the fewest, with approximately 120 crimes annually.

Go Deeper:

• Analysis: California outpaces other states when it comes to violent crime
• Warning to SJ: downtown BART stations likely to increase crime, drug dealing & use
• L.A./Austin case study: Clearing street encampments reduces violent crimes, homeless deaths

The total projected cost of crime in San Jose for 2025 is $338,485,364. This translates to approximately $167 per resident and $497 per household. On average, crime-related costs account for 0.2% of the median household income in San Jose.

These figures reflect only tangible costs, which include the following:

1. Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 48.6%

2. Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 36.3%

3. Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 15.0%

Crime Grade's violent crime map highlights the safest areas in the San Jose area in green, the most dangerous in red, and moderately safe areas in yellow. Crime rates on the map are weighted based on both the type and severity of the crime. For more information on how to interpret our crime maps, see the Interpreting the Crime Maps section below.

Violent Crime per Capita in San Jose.

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