What are California’s safest cities? What to know about crime in the Golden State

A Safewise analysis of per capita crime rates in California ranks a city near Sacramento as one of the safest cities in the Golden State.

Lincoln, which is about 30 miles northeast of Sacramento in Placer County, is the third-safest city in California in 2026, the Safewise study said.

The study analyzed crime rates as determined by the FBI per 1,000 residents for each city.

“No other characterization of any community is implied or intended,” Safewise said. The report analyzed crime rates for 169 California cities.

LIncoln, population about 56,000, had a violent crime rate of 1.2 and a property crime rate of 7 in 2025, both per 1,000 people, Safewise said.

Overall, California had a per capita violent crime rate of 4.24 and a per capita property crime rate of 20.84, both slightly below the average U.S.per capita rates.

What are California’s other safest cities?

The safest city in California in 2026 is Danville, which is about 30 miles east of San Francisco, Safewise said.

Danville dethroned Rancho Santa Margarita for the top spot. The Southern California city fell to second place on the list, just ahead of Lincoln.

Other top safest cities in California, as ranked by the study, include Moorpark, Yorba Linda, Calexico, Poway, Laguna Niguel, San Ramon and Thousand Oaks, Safewise said.

This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 12:14 PM with the headline "What are California’s safest cities? What to know about crime in the Golden State."