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FBI quarterly crime data · 12 months ending March 2026

California Crime Trends

Violent crime in California is down 7.2% and property crime is down 8.3% in the 12 months ending March 2026 compared with the year before — summed from preliminary reports by 846 agencies covering 39,206,839 people.

Violent crime
160,965
-7.2% vs year earlier
Property crime
651,153
-8.3% vs year earlier
Murder
1,272
-15.1% vs year earlier
Motor vehicle theft
110,353
-17.3% vs year earlier

California crime by offense

Offenses reported by California agencies in the 12 months ending March 2025 and the 12 months ending March 2026. Percent changes are derived from our summed common-month counts, not FBI-published.

OffenseTo March 2025To March 2026Change
Violent crime173,538160,965-7.2%
Murder & nonnegligent manslaughter1,4991,272-15.1%
Rape13,53912,430-8.2%
Robbery40,95734,068-16.8%
Aggravated assault117,543113,195-3.7%
Property crime709,873651,153-8.3%
Burglary112,57598,210-12.8%
Larceny-theft463,922442,590-4.6%
Motor vehicle theft133,376110,353-17.3%
Arson*7,7056,476-16.0%

*Arson is reported separately and not included in the property crime index.

California, month by month

Each month of the 12 months ending March 2026 against the same calendar month a year earlier — sums of California agency reports, with percent changes derived from those sums. Months are never chained into one continuous series, because the set of reporting agencies differs month to month.

Violent crime

MonthYear earlierLatestChange
April 202514,51014,005
-3.5%
May 202516,28515,399
-5.4%
June 202516,54714,561
-12.0%
July 202517,00015,258
-10.2%
August 202516,50115,436
-6.5%
September 202516,47814,497
-12.0%
October 202515,90314,222
-10.6%
November 202514,14613,344
-5.7%
December 202514,27113,249
-7.2%
January 202610,95910,212
-6.8%
February 20269,9109,448
-4.7%
March 202611,02811,334
+2.8%

Property crime

MonthYear earlierLatestChange
April 202566,10557,818
-12.5%
May 202563,39758,423
-7.8%
June 202559,63755,862
-6.3%
July 202562,91959,374
-5.6%
August 202563,78159,255
-7.1%
September 202559,16457,170
-3.4%
October 202562,08859,021
-4.9%
November 202560,36655,964
-7.3%
December 202564,59559,304
-8.2%
January 202651,61245,432
-12.0%
February 202647,05140,458
-14.0%
March 202649,15843,072
-12.4%

Largest California agencies by reported offenses

Counts for the 12 months ending March 2026; each agency's comparison covers the months it reported in both windows.

AgencyPopulationMonthsViolentProperty
Los Angeles3,874,4841225,88183,011
San Jose994,435124,85023,021
San Diego1,409,432125,30321,682
Oakland444,21194,78516,766
San Francisco815,33092,91617,839
Fresno551,969123,90614,155
Los Angeles945,22394,55511,102
Sacramento538,389123,85211,641
Bakersfield420,589122,1169,547
Sacramento602,628123,0448,230
Union Pacific Railroad: · Los Angeles County12010,788
Stockton325,985123,2917,287
Long Beach447,317112,0738,062
Kern298,272122,9546,204
Riverside325,858121,7776,805
Anaheim344,040121,8755,843
San Bernardino225,448122,0025,231
Riverside426,614121,1275,653
Berkeley121,235127504,891
Modesto221,064121,2503,764
Santa Ana317,439121,0163,966
Hayward157,399127314,129
Vallejo122,870129323,504
Pomona147,214129553,449
Fremont227,635122474,135

†Reported fewer than 12 common months; totals cover those months, identically in both windows.

About this data

  • These are preliminary quarterly submissions, not the FBI's annual crime publication. Nothing is estimated for agencies that did not report, so totals here run lower than the FBI's annual estimated national figures and are not comparable to them.
  • Every comparison is over “common months.” Each agency's two 12-month windows are restricted to the calendar months it reported in both years — 12,072 of the 15,767 agencies reported all 12. A partial reporter's “12-month” figure covers fewer months, but identically in both windows, which keeps its percent change honest.
  • Blank and zero mean different things. A zero is a month an agency reported with no offenses; a blank month was not reported (or not common to both windows) and contributes nothing to any total. Missing is never counted as zero.
  • National figures are FBI-published verbatim; state figures are our sums. The U.S. row comes straight from the FBI's national line, including its published percent changes. State totals are derived by summing agency common-month counts, so state percent changes are computed, not published.
  • Agencies are assigned to states by ORI prefix — the agency's headquarters state. A multi-jurisdiction agency's offenses all land in its HQ state.
  • No per-capita rates. Reporting coverage varies by state and agency, so covered populations do not line up with counts; comparing raw counts across states reflects coverage as much as crime.
  • Arson is reported separately and excluded from the property crime index. It is also measured differently from our annual Arson dataset — the two use different collection windows — so do not compare figures across them.

Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, quarterly “Crime in the United States by Volume and Percent Change” table, 12 months ending March 2026. pumsdata is independent and not affiliated with the FBI. How our data works.

California crime trends — FAQ

Is crime up or down in California?+

Across the 846 California agencies reporting comparable months in both windows, violent crime is down 7.2% and property crime is down 8.3% in the 12 months ending March 2026 compared with the year before. These are our sums of preliminary agency reports, not FBI-published state totals.

How many murders were reported in California?+

California agencies reported 1,272 murders and nonnegligent manslaughters in the 12 months ending March 2026, down 15.1% from 1,499 a year earlier — counting only months reported in both windows.

Which agency reports the most crime in California?+

Los Angeles reported the most offenses in the 12 months ending March 2026: 25,881 violent and 83,011 property crimes. Reported volume tracks agency size and coverage, not just crime.

Where does this data come from?+

The FBI Crime Data Explorer's quarterly "Crime in the United States by Volume and Percent Change" table — preliminary offense counts, not the FBI's annual estimates. State totals are derived by summing agency common-month reports; agencies are assigned to California by ORI prefix (headquarters state). pumsdata is independent and not affiliated with the FBI.

Other states