A.V. Crime vs L.A. County

What 2023 looks like (rates per 100,000 residents)

  • Violent crime (homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault)
    • Palmdale: 812 violent crimes; pop. 161,412 → 503/100k.
    • Lancaster: 1,434 violent crimes; pop. 166,220 → 862/100k.
    • Antelope Valley cities combined: 2,246 violent crimes; pop. 327,632 → ~686/100k.
    • Rest of L.A. County (excluding Palmdale & Lancaster): 58,947 violent crimes; pop. 9,335,713 → ~631/100k.
    • L.A. County overall: 61,193 violent crimes; pop. 9,663,345 → ~633/100k.
    → Takeaway: As a whole, the Antelope Valley cities have a slightly higher violent-crime rate than the rest of Los Angeles County, driven mostly by Lancaster’s aggravated assaults.
  • Property crime (burglary, larceny-theft, motor-vehicle theft, arson)
    • Palmdale: 2,682 property crimes → 1,662/100k.
    • Lancaster: 3,000 property crimes → 1,804/100k.
    • Antelope Valley cities combined: 5,682 → ~1,734/100k.
    • Rest of L.A. County (excluding Palmdale & Lancaster): 250,931 → ~2,688/100k.
    • L.A. County overall: 256,613 → ~2,656/100k.
    → Takeaway: The Antelope Valley cities have a lower property-crime rate than the rest of the county, notably fewer larcenies per capita

Offense mix that explains the gap

  • Lancaster’s violent-crime composition skews to aggravated assault (1,008 in 2023), with 318 robberies, 75 rapes, and 33 homicides. This raises the AV’s combined violent-crime rate above the rest-of-county figure despite Palmdale being closer to county norms.
  • Palmdale’s violent-crime profile in 2023: 560 aggravated assaults, 206 robberies, 39 rapes, 7 homicides. That keeps Palmdale’s rate (~503/100k) below Lancaster’s and closer to—though still under—the countywide rate.
  • Property-crime difference is mainly larceny-theft: countywide there were 156,050 larcenies in 2023 (a big share of the property total), while Palmdale and Lancaster together posted far smaller per-capita larceny counts. Motor-vehicle theft is high countywide as well (61,024). Those two categories push the county’s property-crime rate well above the AV cities’ combined rate.

How to read this (sources & definitions)

  • The Sheriff’s station reports follow FBI UCR counting rules (e.g., homicide/rape/aggravated assault counted by victim), so the figures align with FBI categories.
  • Countywide totals come straight from California DOJ OpenJustice – Crimes & Clearances (Los Angeles County, 2023), which aggregates agency-reported UCR data that are also submitted to the FBI.
  • Population denominators are ACS 2023 (Census) for Palmdale, Lancaster, and L.A. County.
  • For FBI program context and definitions, see the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting program overview.

Bottom line (Antelope Valley vs. the rest of L.A. County, 2023)

  • Violent crime: Antelope Valley (Palmdale + Lancaster) is modestly higher than the rest of the county, largely because Lancaster’s aggravated-assault rate is elevated. (~686/100k AV vs. ~631/100k rest-of-county).
  • Property crime: Antelope Valley is lower than the rest of the county, with fewer larcenies per capita. (~1,734/100k AV vs. ~2,688/100k rest-of-county).

Scope note: This comparison uses 2023 data, focuses on the two incorporated AV cities, and excludes unincorporated AV communities. Including unincorporated areas (which the LASD tables list separately) would change the exact rates but doesn’t alter the overall pattern described above.