Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.
Raw data sources:
18,000 local law enforcement agencies in the U.S.
Date(s) & Update Frequency:
Reflects 2024 calendar year; released from FBI in October 2025 (latest available). Updated annually.
Where is 2025 data?
Methodology:
Our nationwide meta-analysis overcomes the issues inherent in any crime database, including non-reporting and reporting errors. This is possible by associating the 9.4 million reported crimes in the U.S, including over 2 million geocoded point locations….
Read more about Scout's Crime Data
The crime rate in Carmel-by-the-Sea is considerably higher than the national average across all communities in America from the largest to the smallest, although at 21 crimes per one thousand residents, it is not among the communities with the very highest crime rate. The chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in Carmel-by-the-Sea is 1 in 48. Based on FBI crime data, Carmel-by-the-Sea is not one of the safest communities in America. Relative to California, Carmel-by-the-Sea has a crime rate that is higher than 73% of the state's cities and towns of all sizes.
Separately, it is always interesting and important to compare a city's crime rate with those of similarly sized communities - a fair comparison as larger cities tend to have more crime. NeighborhoodScout has done just that. With a population of 3,124, Carmel-by-the-Sea has a combined rate of violent and property crime that is very high compared to other places of similar population size. Regardless of whether Carmel-by-the-Sea does well or poorly compared to all other cities and towns in the US of all sizes, compared to places with a similar population, it fares badly. Few other communities of this size have a crime rate as high as Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Now let us turn to take a look at how Carmel-by-the-Sea 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 Carmel-by-the-Sea.
NeighborhoodScout's research shows that Carmel-by-the-Sea's violent crime rate is 1 per one thousand inhabitants, which is about average for all communities in America, across all population sizes. Violent crimes that are tracked and included in this rate are armed robbery, aggravated assault, rape (not statutory), and murder and non-negligent manslaughter. Roughly similar to the national average, our analysis shows that your chance of becoming a victim of violent crime in Carmel-by-the-Sea is one in 781.
NeighborhoodScout's analysis also reveals that Carmel-by-the-Sea's rate for property crime is 20 per one thousand population. This makes Carmel-by-the-Sea 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 Carmel-by-the-Sea is one in 51.
Carmel-by-the-Sea Crime
Data
FAQ on NeighborhoodScout's Crime Data
NeighborhoodScout® provides exclusive crime risk analytics for every neighborhood in America with up to 98% predictive accuracy. Crime risk indices are nationally comparable on a 1 – 100 scale, where 100 means safer than 100% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Crime risk data are updated annually. Raw crime incidents are sourced from all 18,000+ local law enforcement agencies – municipal, county, transit, park, port, university, tribal and more, assigned to localities, then built into NeighborhoodScout’s proprietary predictive models to provide a comprehensive crime risk profile for every neighborhood and address-vicinity in the U.S.
