Crime by type
San Francisco Crime by Type
A breakdown of the offense categories that define San Francisco's crime profile.
Overview
What drives crime in San Francisco
Property crime dwarfs violent crime in San Francisco's reports, and theft from vehicles is the single most visible problem. The categories below show how each type tends to distribute across the city.
By category
Rates and odds by crime type
Estimated annual rate per 100,000 residents and your everyday odds, with risk level relative to the U.S. average.
| Offense | Per 100k/yr | Annual odds | vs. U.S. | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theft / Larceny | 2,266 | 1 in 44 | +62% | Moderate |
| Motor Vehicle Theft | 511 | 1 in 196 | +60% | Moderate |
| Aggravated Assault | 386 | 1 in 259 | +44% | Moderate |
| Burglary | 307 | 1 in 326 | +14% | Average |
| Robbery | 107 | 1 in 932 | +45% | Moderate |
| Rape | 43 | 1 in 2,312 | +29% | Moderate |
| Homicide | 7 | 1 in 13,907 | +44% | Moderate |
Drill down
What's actually reported in San Francisco
The most common specific offenses behind each category, from reported incident descriptions.
Theft 9,563 reports
Assault 7,350 reports
Other 6,691 reports
Theft from Vehicle 5,618 reports
Motor Vehicle Theft 5,153 reports
Vandalism 4,783 reports
Detail
Crime types in San Francisco, explained
Motor Vehicle Theft
Auto theft is widespread, but it is theft from vehicles — smash-and-grab break-ins — that has become San Francisco's most notorious property crime, concentrated near tourist sites and busy parking areas.
Theft / Larceny
Larceny is by far the most-reported category, dominated by car break-ins along with shoplifting in commercial and retail districts.
Burglary
Residential and commercial burglaries occur across the city, with spikes tied to ground-floor units, garages, and periods of reduced foot traffic.
Aggravated Assault
Aggravated assaults concentrate in the Tenderloin, parts of SoMa, and the Mission, while western residential districts report comparatively few.
Robbery
Robberies follow dense pedestrian and transit activity, with downtown, the Tenderloin, and Mission corridors seeing the highest counts.
Homicide
Homicides are relatively rare for a major city and stay geographically concentrated, with most incidents tied to a handful of central neighborhoods.