State profile · CA · Clery Act

Safest Colleges in California

Federal Clery Act filings for all 590 tracked California campuses, ranked by 2024 on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 students. Among nonzero reporters, Grossmont College currently has the lowest rate.

590
Institutions tracked
2.11
Avg campus rate / 1k (590 of 590 scored)
2.95
Statewide rate / 1k
#31
Rank by avg campus rate
2,666,243
Students enrolled

Among nonzero Clery reporters, Grossmont College has the lowest rate in California

According to U.S. Department of Education Clery Act filings, across 590 tracked campuses in California, 346 reported zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents used in the rate; among campuses with any in those categories, Grossmont College has the lowest rate at 0.07 per 1,000 students. This comparison excludes other Clery tables and unreported harm, so review the details before drawing a safety conclusion.

Data source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey

campuses tracked
590
average campus, per 1,000 (590 of 590 scored)
2.11
lowest nonzero rate - Grossmont College
0.07
campuses at zero in score categories
346

Data updated August 2026

Clery Act plate

Sheet CA · California 2.11/1k campus avg · #31/59

RATE-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-FLAT

  • RATE-MID 2.11/1k
  • RANK-MID #31/59
  • PHOTO-FINISH Colorado · ±0.01
  • ZERO-HEAVY 59% zero
  • WT-LARGE-HOT Δ −0.85
  • BOOK-FULL 590/590
  • CONC-FLAT top5 9%

Nearest campus-rate peer: Colorado (-0.01/1k)

California sheet RATE-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-FLAT · peer Colorado. Codes from this state’s OPE Campus Safety filing: unweighted campus rate, corpus rank (low = safer), photo-finish peer state, zero-report share, campus-vs-weighted gap, scored book, top-five enrollment concentration. Not a moving recommendation.

Clery plate RATE-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-FLAT. Nearest unweighted-rate peer is Colorado (-0.01/1k). Among nonzero reporters inside the state, Grossmont College leads at 0.07/1k. Instrument codes from this state's OPE Campus Safety sheet; compare similarly sized campuses before treating any single rate as decisive.

Most scored campuses in California (346 of 590) reported zero in the 2024 score categories and stay unranked against each other. Among the nonzero reporters, Grossmont College leads at 0.07/1k, then Long Beach City College (0.08/1k); Norco College (0.09/1k). A high zero share is a filing pattern, not a proof that campuses are safer.

Campus-rate neighbourhood around California

Lowest/highest poles plus states nearest California on unweighted average campus Clery rate. Full ladder: /rankings/.

per 1,000 students

What this shows Neighbourhood of scored states around California's 2.11/1k unweighted campus average, not a full 50-state board reprint.

Source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey (Clery Act) As of 2024

Safest colleges in California, ranked by reported rate

Ranked from the lowest 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate upward, counting only the 244 California campuses with at least one incident in those score categories. Showing the top 50 here so the page stays crawlable; positions are numbered within the full nonzero group.

3
Norco CollegeNorco · 11,351 students
Enrollment
11,351
Incidents /1k
0.09
11
Mission CollegeSanta Clara · 6,909 students
Enrollment
6,909
Incidents /1k
0.14
12
Canada CollegeRedwood City · 6,625 students
Enrollment
6,625
Incidents /1k
0.15
13
Sierra CollegeRocklin · 19,125 students
Enrollment
19,125
Incidents /1k
0.16
14
Yuba CollegeMarysville · 6,320 students
Enrollment
6,320
Incidents /1k
0.16
20
Unitek CollegeFremont · 5,725 students
Enrollment
5,725
Incidents /1k
0.17
21
Cuesta CollegeSan Luis Obispo · 11,283 students
Enrollment
11,283
Incidents /1k
0.18
23
Skyline CollegeSan Bruno · 9,572 students
Enrollment
9,572
Incidents /1k
0.21
26
Taft CollegeTaft · 4,464 students
Enrollment
4,464
Incidents /1k
0.22
29
Foothill CollegeLos Altos Hills · 12,949 students
Enrollment
12,949
Incidents /1k
0.23
31
Ventura CollegeVentura · 12,222 students
Enrollment
12,222
Incidents /1k
0.25
34
Butte CollegeOroville · 10,968 students
Enrollment
10,968
Incidents /1k
0.27
37
Palomar CollegeSan Marcos · 19,550 students
Enrollment
19,550
Incidents /1k
0.31
40
Merced CollegeMerced · 12,472 students
Enrollment
12,472
Incidents /1k
0.32
48
Citrus CollegeGlendora · 10,429 students
Enrollment
10,429
Incidents /1k
0.38
#CampusEnrollmentIncidents /1k
1Grossmont CollegeEl Cajon · 14,440 students14,4400.074% of the leader · rank #1
2Long Beach City CollegeLong Beach · 24,985 students24,9850.084% of the leader · rank #2
3Norco CollegeNorco · 11,351 students11,3510.094% of the leader · rank #3
4College of San MateoSan Mateo · 9,901 students9,9010.104% of the leader · rank #4
5Santa Ana CollegeSanta Ana · 27,248 students27,2480.114% of the leader · rank #5
6Imperial Valley CollegeImperial · 8,873 students8,8730.114% of the leader · rank #6
7Victor Valley CollegeVictorville · 8,423 students8,4230.124% of the leader · rank #7
8Las Positas CollegeLivermore · 8,103 students8,1030.124% of the leader · rank #8
9American River CollegeSacramento · 30,462 students30,4620.134% of the leader · rank #9
10Moorpark CollegeMoorpark · 14,583 students14,5830.144% of the leader · rank #10
11Mission CollegeSanta Clara · 6,909 students6,9090.144% of the leader · rank #11
12Canada CollegeRedwood City · 6,625 students6,6250.154% of the leader · rank #12
13Sierra CollegeRocklin · 19,125 students19,1250.164% of the leader · rank #13
14Yuba CollegeMarysville · 6,320 students6,3200.164% of the leader · rank #14
15Berkeley City CollegeBerkeley · 6,278 students6,2780.164% of the leader · rank #15
16College of the CanyonsSanta Clarita · 18,075 students18,0750.174% of the leader · rank #16
17Moreno Valley CollegeMoreno Valley · 11,920 students11,9200.174% of the leader · rank #17
18Mt San Jacinto Community College DistrictSan Jacinto · 17,627 students17,6270.174% of the leader · rank #18
19Rio Hondo CollegeWhittier · 17,441 students17,4410.174% of the leader · rank #19
20Unitek CollegeFremont · 5,725 students5,7250.174% of the leader · rank #20
21Cuesta CollegeSan Luis Obispo · 11,283 students11,2830.184% of the leader · rank #21
22Napa Valley CollegeNapa · 4,844 students4,8440.214% of the leader · rank #22
23Skyline CollegeSan Bruno · 9,572 students9,5720.214% of the leader · rank #23
24Solano Community CollegeFairfield · 9,282 students9,2820.224% of the leader · rank #24
25West Los Angeles CollegeCulver City · 9,255 students9,2550.224% of the leader · rank #25
26Taft CollegeTaft · 4,464 students4,4640.224% of the leader · rank #26
27Cuyamaca CollegeEl Cajon · 8,905 students8,9050.224% of the leader · rank #27
28Irvine Valley CollegeIrvine · 13,018 students13,0180.234% of the leader · rank #28
29Foothill CollegeLos Altos Hills · 12,949 students12,9490.234% of the leader · rank #29
30Coalinga CollegeCoalinga · 4,175 students4,1750.244% of the leader · rank #30
31Ventura CollegeVentura · 12,222 students12,2220.254% of the leader · rank #31
32Sacramento City CollegeSacramento · 19,920 students19,9200.254% of the leader · rank #32
33Santiago Canyon CollegeOrange · 11,897 students11,8970.254% of the leader · rank #33
34Butte CollegeOroville · 10,968 students10,9680.274% of the leader · rank #34
35Los Angeles Pierce CollegeWoodland Hills · 16,906 students16,9060.304% of the leader · rank #35
36Mt San Antonio CollegeWalnut · 29,971 students29,9710.304% of the leader · rank #36
37Palomar CollegeSan Marcos · 19,550 students19,5500.314% of the leader · rank #37
38Barstow Community CollegeBarstow · 3,226 students3,2260.314% of the leader · rank #38
39College of the DesertPalm Desert · 12,861 students12,8610.314% of the leader · rank #39
40Merced CollegeMerced · 12,472 students12,4720.324% of the leader · rank #40
41Golden Gate UniversitySan Francisco · 3,098 students3,0980.324% of the leader · rank #41
42Diablo Valley CollegePleasant Hill · 17,228 students17,2280.354% of the leader · rank #42
43The Master's University and SeminarySanta Clarita · 2,860 students2,8600.354% of the leader · rank #43
44East Los Angeles CollegeMonterey Park · 33,677 students33,6770.364% of the leader · rank #44
45Cerro Coso Community CollegeRidgecrest · 5,549 students5,5490.364% of the leader · rank #45
46San Diego Mesa CollegeSan Diego · 19,212 students19,2120.364% of the leader · rank #46
47Cerritos CollegeNorwalk · 21,859 students21,8590.374% of the leader · rank #47
48Citrus CollegeGlendora · 10,429 students10,4290.384% of the leader · rank #48
49West Valley CollegeSaratoga · 7,655 students7,6550.394% of the leader · rank #49
50Smith Chason CollegeLos Angeles · 2,447 students2,4470.414% of the leader · rank #50

194 additional nonzero-reporting campuses rank below this top-50 list in the same rate order.

Look up any campus via the Campus Safety Incident Tool or browse all schools.

Unranked campuses (346): zero score or no normalized rate

346 filed zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents in the score categories; other Clery tables can still contain reports. Neither group supports a safety ordering, so these campuses are listed alphabetically without positions. Showing 15 alphabetically; the remaining 331 stay out of this HTML table so large states stay crawlable.

#CampusEnrollmentIncidents /1k
ABC Adult SchoolCerritos · 173 students1730.00
ABCO TechnologyInglewood · 75 students750.00
Abraham Lincoln UniversityGlendale · 112 students1120.00
Academy for Jewish Religion CaliforniaLos Angeles · 58 students580.00
Academy for Salon ProfessionalsNorthridge · 134 students1340.00
Academy of Chinese Culture and Health SciencesOakland · 114 students1140.00
Academy of Esthetics and CosmetologySan Fernando · 30 students300.00
Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College-BerkeleyBerkeley · 115 students1150.00
Advance Beauty CollegeGarden Grove · 346 students3460.00
Advance Beauty Techs AcademySan Jacinto · 90 students900.00
Advanced Career InstituteVisalia · 664 students6640.00
Agape College of Business and ScienceFresno · 43 students430.00
Alhambra Medical UniversityAlhambra · 140 students1400.00
Alliant International University-San DiegoSan Diego · 4,530 students4,5300.00
America Evangelical UniversityGardena · 307 students3070.00

Open any remaining campus from the school directory or the incident tool.

The largest universities in California by enrollment

Enrollment leaders: University of California-Los Angeles (47,335); University of Southern California (46,566); University of California-Berkeley (45,882), then 587 more. The 15 biggest California institutions by total enrolled students, from the same federal IPEDS collection, each shown with its 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate. The five largest alone account for 9% of the 2,666,243 students enrolled across all 590 tracked California institutions. Mid-pack by size sits near Thomas Aquinas College (566 students, 5.30/1k).

#InstitutionEnrollmentIncidents /1k
1University of California-Los AngelesLos Angeles · 47,335 students47,335100% of the leader · rank #19.38
2University of Southern CaliforniaLos Angeles · 46,566 students46,56698% of the leader · rank #29.64
3University of California-BerkeleyBerkeley · 45,882 students45,88297% of the leader · rank #314.19
4University of California-San DiegoLa Jolla · 44,256 students44,25693% of the leader · rank #413.49
5California State University-FullertonFullerton · 43,662 students43,66292% of the leader · rank #51.51
6California State University-Long BeachLong Beach · 42,003 students42,00389% of the leader · rank #61.17
7San Diego State UniversitySan Diego · 41,137 students41,13787% of the leader · rank #71.36
8University of California-DavisDavis · 40,065 students40,06585% of the leader · rank #815.52
9California State University-NorthridgeNorthridge · 38,313 students38,31381% of the leader · rank #93.55
10San Jose State UniversitySan Jose · 37,661 students37,66180% of the leader · rank #102.28
11University of California-IrvineIrvine · 37,297 students37,29779% of the leader · rank #1110.13
12East Los Angeles CollegeMonterey Park · 33,677 students33,67771% of the leader · rank #120.36
13California State University-SacramentoSacramento · 31,943 students31,94367% of the leader · rank #133.73
14Bakersfield CollegeBakersfield · 30,746 students30,74665% of the leader · rank #141.04
15American River CollegeSacramento · 30,462 students30,46264% of the leader · rank #150.13

Enrollment is total reported students, not full-time equivalent, and a branch campus is reported separately from its parent institution. A larger campus is not a less safe one: the incident rate beside it is already per 1,000 students.

Nationwide states with similar campus scale or Clery rate

Two nationwide peer sets for California: closest on tracked campus count (590 here) and closest on unweighted average 2024 Clery rate (2.11/1k here). The rate-neighbourhood and keep-peer blocks above stay geo-adjacent; these columns are cross-state ABS comparisons with deduped link sets.

Similar campus count

Nearest other states by number of tracked postsecondary institutions (≥5 scored campuses in corpus).

Similar campus Clery rate

Nearest other states by unweighted average on-campus Clery rate. Campus-count peers above are excluded.

Read with this state

Keep-peer handoff: Colorado sits nearest on unweighted campus average (-0.01/1k). Inside California, open Grossmont College's campus sheet next.

Grossmont College profile → | All states → | California net price → | Incident tool → | Methodology →

California campus safety FAQ

What are the safest colleges in California?

Among California campuses that reported at least one 2024 Criminal Offense or VAWA incident in the Clery categories used here, Grossmont College has the lowest rate (0.07 per 1,000 students). Next among nonzero reporters: Long Beach City College (0.08/1k); Norco College (0.09/1k). 346 campuses reported zero in those score categories and are listed separately without a safety ordinal, because a zero report is not the same as a proven safer campus.

How does PlainCampus rank campus safety in California?

In California, campuses with any 2024 Criminal Offenses or VAWA incidents in the score categories are ordered by incidents per 1,000 students - Grossmont College currently leads that nonzero list at 0.07/1k. Zero-report and unscored campuses stay unranked and alphabetical. See /methodology for the full rate definition.

How many colleges in California are compared?

This page covers 590 tracked higher-education institutions in California, serving about 2,666,243 enrolled students combined across 221 cities. 244 carry a ranked nonzero rate; 346 are listed without a safety ordinal. By enrollment the largest are University of California-Los Angeles (47,335); University of Southern California (46,566); University of California-Berkeley (45,882). Nearby state averages for context: Colorado (2.10/1k); Mississippi (2.00/1k); North Carolina (2.22/1k); Virginia (2.23/1k); Indiana (2.24/1k); New York (1.95/1k).

Every figure on PlainCampus is rendered directly from federal Clery Act source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal Clery Act source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice; the data describes reported on-campus activity, it is not a complete picture of safety at any campus and cannot predict any individual student's experience. See our appropriate use guidance.