Safest and Most Dangerous Driving Cities in California (2026)

Some California cities are genuinely safer to drive in than others. We wanted to know which ones, so we pulled crash data from the Según la Oficina de Seguridad de Tráfico de California, and built a scoring system to find out.

The results were surprising. A few cities we expected to rank poorly did fine. Others that seem quiet and suburban? Not great. And one beach town landed dead last, which nobody saw coming.

Here’s what the numbers actually say.

Conclusiones principales

• Cerritos is the safest city we analyzed, with the lowest DUI crash rate in our entire dataset and minimal pedestrian incidents. Small city, big safety margins.
• Newport Beach ranked last, mostly due to an unusually high percentage of crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists, plus elevated DUI rates. The beach town dynamic might be a factor.
• Sacramento has California’s worst alcohol-involved crash ranking among large cities, according to OTS data. If you’re driving there at night, be extra careful.
• Irvine stands out among big cities with crash rates far below its population peers. It scored 100 out of 100 on our crash frequency metric.
• The gap between the safest and the most dangerous is massive. Cerritos scored 88.8. Newport Beach scored 15.7. Same state, wildly different risk profiles.

How We Ranked These Cities

We analyzed 19 California cities using OTS crash data and scored them on three factors:

Metric	What It Measures	Weight
Crash Rate	Fatal and injury crashes per 1,000 residents	40%
DUI Index	Percentage of crashes involving alcohol	35%
Vulnerable Road Users	Percentage involving pedestrians or cyclists	25%

Higher scores mean safer. We capped outliers at the 5th and 95th percentiles so one weird data point wouldn’t throw everything off.

The full methodology lives on our Safety Score Methodology page.

The 5 Safest Cities in California

1. Cerritos (Score: 88.8)

Cerritos topped our list, and it wasn’t close. This LA County suburb of about 48,000 people recorded just 175 total crash victims in the most recent OTS data year. Only 6 involved alcohol. Four involved bicycles.

The numbers are almost hard to believe when you compare them to nearby cities. Cerritos benefits from its size, sure, but the per-capita rates still beat everyone else.

2. Irvine (Score: 81.8)

Irvine is the safest large city on our list. With over 300,000 residents, it recorded just 595 crash victims, giving it a perfect 100 on our crash rate metric.

The master-planned street grid probably helps. Wide roads, separated bike lanes, and minimal through-traffic from highways all contribute. DUI rates are also extremely low at just 8.2% of crashes.

3. Buena Park (Score: 74.5)

Buena Park doesn’t get much attention, but it should. This Orange County city of 82,000 sits right between Anaheim and Cerritos geographically, and its safety profile splits the difference, too.

Low DUI percentage. Low pedestrian involvement. Solid across the board.

4. Whittier (Score: 70.8)

Whittier’s crash rate is middle-of-the-pack, but what pushes it into the top five is the composition of those crashes. Very few involve drunk drivers or pedestrians. When accidents happen here, they tend to be fender-benders, not catastrophic.

5. San Jose (Score: 66.3)

San Jose is the biggest city in our top five, with nearly a million residents. It manages a crash rate of just 3.1 per 1,000 people, which is impressive for a metro area.

The DUI index is reasonable at 11.9%. Pedestrian and cyclist crashes make up about 18% of incidents, which is higher than the smaller cities above, but expected given the urban density.

The 5 Most Dangerous Cities in California

5. Victorville (Score: 47.0)

Victorville has problems with speed. OTS ranks it 4th worst out of 61 similar-sized cities for speed-related crashes. The high desert highway culture probably contributes.

DUI involvement is also elevated at 19.8% of all crashes. That’s the third-highest rate in our dataset.

4. Sacramento (Score: 45.2)

Sacramento ranks #1 worst for alcohol-involved crashes among all 15 large California cities in OTS Group A. Number one. Worst in the state for its size.

The city also has concerning pedestrian numbers. Night driving here carries real risk.

3. Long Beach (Score: 44.3)

Long Beach ranks 2nd-worst among large cities for both pedestrian and cyclist crashes. With 359 pedestrian victims and 233 cyclist victims in a single year, the vulnerable road user problem is severe.

Quick hits on Long Beach:

• 3rd worst for alcohol involvement among Group A cities
• 3,542 total crash victims in 2022
• Pedestrian and cyclist crashes make up 16.7% of all incidents

2. Costa Mesa (Score: 25.7)

Costa Mesa has one of the highest crash rates per capita in our dataset. At 5.9 crashes per 1,000 residents, it nearly doubles Irvine’s rate despite being a smaller city.

The DUI problem is significant, too. Over 20% of crashes involve alcohol, the highest percentage we measured. Costa Mesa sits between two freeways and has a busy bar scene, which might explain some of this.

1. Newport Beach (Score: 15.7)

Newport Beach finished last. By a lot.

El 2021 OTS data for Newport Beach shows a city where nearly 25% of all crashes involve pedestrians or cyclists. That’s the highest vulnerable road user percentage in our entire dataset.

DUI rates are also elevated at 19%, and the city ranks #2 worst for bicycle crashes in its population group.

The beach town dynamic is likely a factor. Lots of foot traffic, lots of cyclists, lots of visitors who’ve been drinking. Not a great combination.

What This Means If You’re Driving in California

These rankings won’t tell you whether a specific intersection is dangerous or whether your commute is safe. But they do show patterns worth knowing about.

If you’re in Sacramento at night, be aware that DUI crashes are more common there than anywhere else in the state among large cities. If you’re walking or biking in Long Beach or Newport Beach, the numbers say you’re at higher risk than in most other places.

If you’re moving to a new city, and considering safety factors. Cerritos, Irvine, and Buena Park have the data to back up their reputations.

Data sourced from the California Office of Traffic Safety. Rankings reflect the most recent available year per city (2020-2023). Full methodology available at dklaw.com/local-insider/safety-score-methodology.