What is the crime rate in Morro Bay, CA?

In 2025, the Morro Bay Police Department reported 21 violent crimes and 109 property crimes to the FBI.

That is 199 violent and 1,033 property crimes per 100,000 of the 10,549 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: 199
Property per 100,000: 1,033
Violent crimes: 21
Property crimes: 109

Crime reported by the Morro Bay 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	32	300	100	937	10,669
2024	31	294	88	836	10,532
2025	21	199	109	1,033	10,549

Violent crimes reported went from 32 in 2023 to 21 in 2025.

Property crimes reported went from 100 in 2023 to 109 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.

Morro Bay against California and the nation

Crimes per 100,000 residents, 2025
	Violent crime	Property crime
Morro Bay	199	1,033
San Luis Obispo County	280	959
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 Morro Bay, 2025

Each place’s own police department; rates per 100,000 residents served
Place	Distance	Violent per 100,000	Property per 100,000
Morro Bay	—	199	1,033
Atascadero	13 mi	148	730
San Luis Obispo	13 mi	347	2,054
Pismo Beach	18 mi	314	1,770
Grover Beach	22 mi	216	664
Arroyo Grande	23 mi	126	571
Guadalupe	32 mi	147	620
Santa Maria	38 mi	626	1,813

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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