What is the crime rate in El Cajon, CA?

In 2025, the El Cajon Police Department reported 471 violent crimes and 1,260 property crimes to the FBI.

That is 459 violent and 1,228 property crimes per 100,000 of the 102,604 residents it serves.

Across California the rates were 435 and 1,822.

Nationally they were 330 and 1,552.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Violent per 100,000: 459
Property per 100,000: 1,228
Violent crimes: 471
Property crimes: 1,260

Crime reported by the El Cajon Police Department, 2023 to 2025

Offenses known to law enforcement, reported to the FBI; rates per 100,000 residents of the area the department serves
Year	Violent crimes	Violent per 100,000	Property crimes	Property per 100,000	Residents served
2023	494	477	1,602	1,547	103,569
2024	444	435	1,567	1,537	101,983
2025	471	459	1,260	1,228	102,604

Violent crimes reported went from 494 in 2023 to 471 in 2025.

Property crimes reported went from 1,602 in 2023 to 1,260 in 2025.

In a small town a handful of incidents moves these numbers a long way, so one year’s change says little on its own.

El Cajon against California and the nation

Crimes per 100,000 residents, 2025
	Violent crime	Property crime
El Cajon	459	1,228
San Diego County	316	1,155
California	435	1,822
United States	330	1,552

These are rates per resident; they are not adjusted for visitors, commuters or the size of the area, which raise or lower a town’s figures without changing anybody’s risk.

Crime reported in places near El Cajon, 2025

Each place’s own police department; rates per 100,000 residents served
Place	Distance	Violent per 100,000	Property per 100,000
El Cajon	—	459	1,228
Santee	4.0 mi	163	475
La Mesa	4.2 mi	400	1,359
Lemon Grove	6.4 mi	348	774
San Diego	10 mi	376	1,556
National City	12 mi	637	1,714
Poway	13 mi	89	375
Coronado	15 mi	371	1,546

Neighboring departments count the same offenses the same way, but their areas, populations and visitors differ, so a difference between two towns is a starting point for a question, not an answer.

How to read these numbers

These are offenses known to the police and reported to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program: crimes nobody reported, or that a department did not record, are not in them.

Violent crime is murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property crime is burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.

A department reports the crimes in the area it polices, which can differ from the town’s boundaries, and the FBI estimates the population it serves.

The FBI asks that these figures not be used to rank places or to judge how safe a neighborhood is: crime depends on many local factors, and the counts describe a whole town, not any street or home.

A year is shown only when the department reported all twelve months.

FBI: Uniform Crime Reporting statistics and their proper use

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