Crime in South Lake Tahoe, California

South Lake Tahoe's crime rate

There were 560 crimes reported in South Lake Tahoe, California in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 2,532 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does South Lake Tahoe compare?

South Lake Tahoe has a higher 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.

South Lake Tahoe's overall crime rate is 9% 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 South Lake Tahoe, however, property crimes account for only about 80% of all offenses.

Property crime is less prevalent in South Lake Tahoe than it is nationwide. There were 449 property crimes in South Lake Tahoe in 2019, or 2,030 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 South Lake Tahoe. There were 335 larcenies reported in South Lake Tahoe in 2019, or 1,515 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 79 break-ins reported in South Lake Tahoe in 2019, or 357 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 South Lake Tahoe, meanwhile, there were 35 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 158 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 South Lake Tahoe, however, violent offenses account for a larger 20% share of all reported crime.

At 502 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in South Lake Tahoe is above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in South Lake Tahoe reported a total of 111 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 South Lake Tahoe. There were 79 aggravated assaults reported in South Lake Tahoe in 2019, or 357 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is lower, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America. There were 20 robberies reported in South Lake Tahoe in 2019, a rate of 90 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 10 rapes reported in South Lake Tahoe in 2019, or 45 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

There were 2 homicides committed in the city in 2019. Adjusted for population, the murder rate in South Lake Tahoe is 9.0 murders for every 100,000 people, considerably higher than the national murder rate of 5 per 100,000 people.

South Lake Tahoe compared to other cities in California

South Lake Tahoe has a higher crime rate than the 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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