With a crime rate of 32 per one thousand residents, Los Angeles has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes - from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 31. Within California, more than 86% of the communities have a lower crime rate than Los Angeles.

How does the crime rate in Los Angeles compare to similar sized communities across America? When NeighborhoodScout compared Los Angeles with other communities its size, we found that the crime rate was near the average for all other communities of similar size. So, whether Los Angeles's crime rate is high or low compared to all places in the US, when we control for population size and compare it to places that are similar in size, it is near the middle of the pack in crime rate; not much more or less dangerous, and about what we would expect from the statistics.

Now let us turn to take a look at how Los Angeles does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in Los Angeles.

For Los Angeles, we found that the violent crime rate is one of the highest in the nation, across communities of all sizes (both large and small). Violent offenses tracked included rape, murder and non-negligent manslaughter, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, including assault with a deadly weapon. According to NeighborhoodScout's analysis of FBI reported crime data, your chance of becoming a victim of one of these crimes in Los Angeles is one in 135.

NeighborhoodScout's analysis also reveals that Los Angeles's rate for property crime is 25 per one thousand population. This makes Los Angeles a place where there is an above average chance of becoming a victim of a property crime, when compared to all other communities in America of all population sizes. Property crimes are motor vehicle theft, arson, larceny, and burglary. Your chance of becoming a victim of any of these crimes in Los Angeles is one in 41.

Importantly, we found that Los Angeles has one of the highest rates of motor vehicle theft in the nation according to our analysis of FBI crime data. This is compared to communities of all sizes, from the smallest to the largest. In fact, your chance of getting your car stolen if you live in Los Angeles is one in 159.