Crime in Chula Vista, California

Chula Vista's crime rate

There were 4,720 crimes reported in Chula Vista, California in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 1,715 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does Chula Vista compare?

Chula Vista has a lower overall crime rate than the majority of U.S. cities. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Chula Vista's overall crime rate is 38% lower than the overall crime rate in California. Statewide, there were 1,095,445 crimes reported in 2019, or 2,772 for every 100,000 people.

What types of crimes are being committed?

The FBI's crime rate includes seven crime categories: three property crimes -- larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, and four violent crimes -- aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder.

Property crime

The vast majority of crimes in America are property crimes, accounting for 85% of total crimes in 2019. In Chula Vista, however, property crimes account for only about 81% of all offenses.

Property crime is less prevalent in Chula Vista than it is nationwide. There were 3,816 property crimes in Chula Vista in 2019, or 1,387 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate is 2,110 incidents per 100,000 people.

Larceny

Larceny is by far the most common type of property crime in the U.S. It is also the most commonly committed type of property crime in Chula Vista. There were 2,503 larcenies reported in Chula Vista in 2019, or 909 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 486 break-ins reported in Chula Vista in 2019, or 177 for every 100,000 residents. For reference, there were 341 reported burglaries for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2019.

Motor Vehicle Theft

Across the United States, the annual motor vehicle theft rate is 220 for every 100,000 people. In Chula Vista, meanwhile, there were 827 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 301 for every 100,000 people.

Violent crime

Violent crime accounts for a relatively small share of crimes nationwide. These offenses, which are generally more egregious than property crimes, account for about 15% of the nearly 8.2 million offenses reported across the U.S. in 2019. In Chula Vista, however, violent offenses account for a larger 19% share of all reported crime.

At 329 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Chula Vista is below the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Chula Vista reported a total of 904 violent crimes in 2019.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is by far the most common type of violent crime reported in the U.S. It is also the most commonly reported violent offense in Chula Vista. There were 575 aggravated assaults reported in Chula Vista in 2019, or 209 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is higher, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America. There were 265 robberies reported in Chula Vista in 2019, a rate of 96 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 61 rapes reported in Chula Vista in 2019, or 22 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

There were 3 homicides committed in the city in 2019. Adjusted for population, the murder rate in Chula Vista is 1.1 murders for every 100,000 people, considerably lower than the national murder rate of 5 per 100,000 people.

Chula Vista compared to other cities in California

Chula Vista has a lower crime rate than the vast majority of all comparable cities in California. To be considered comparable, a city must have a complete 2019 FBI crime report and population of 5,000 or more.

Here are all comparable cities ranked by total crime rate. Click any bar or city name to see more about crime in that city.

Click here to see a list of all city crime pages.

Click here to see a list of all state crime pages.

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