Every summer, millions of Americans flock to the beach to swim, sunbathe, and unwind. But while beach days are meant to be carefree, crowded shorelines can also create opportunities for property crime. Unattended bags, phones, wallets, and vehicles can become easy targets when visitors head into the water or leave belongings out of sight.
To identify which beach destinations may warrant extra caution, The Action Network analyzed property crime data surrounding more than 500 U.S. beaches across the country, based on resident populations and estimated visitor volumes.
This produced a Beach Theft Risk Score for each location that highlights the beach areas where property crime may pose a greater risk to visitors.
The analysis focuses on four categories of crime most relevant to beachgoers:
- Theft: Personal belongings stolen on or near the beach.
- Robbery: Theft involving direct confrontation in surrounding public areas.
- Vehicle theft: Cars, bicycles, scooters, or other vehicles stolen from nearby parking areas.
- Burglary: Break-ins involving vacation rentals, storage areas, or nearby properties.
While appearing on this list doesn't mean a beach is unsafe, or that visitors should avoid it altogether, it does suggest that taking a few extra precautions, such as locking vehicles, keeping valuables out of sight, and avoiding leaving belongings unattended, is especially worthwhile.
U.S. Beach Areas With the Highest Risk of Theft
After analyzing property crime patterns across hundreds of ZIP codes, these beach areas stood out with the highest implied probability of theft-related incidents. While many remain scenic getaways, the surrounding neighborhoods report elevated rates of theft, robbery, vehicle crime, and burglary- all of which can impact beachgoers.
| Rank | Beach Area | State | ZIP Code | Effective Daily Pop. | Adjusted Property Crime (per 1,000) | Adjusted Violent Crime (per 1,000) | Implied Theft Risk (%) | Safety Grade |
| 1 | North Jetty (Ocean Shores) | WA | 98569 | ~8,500 | 158.14 | 1.50 | 4.81% | B- |
| 2 | Folly Beach (Public Beach & County Park) | SC | 29439 | ~12,500 | 109.18 | 2.41 | 4.58% | B- |
| 3 | Newport Beach (Main & The Wedge) | CA | 92661 | ~12,000 | 13.74 | 3.81 | 4.15% | B- |
| 4 | Laupahoehoe Beach Park | HI | 96764 | ~2,500 | 28.60 | 3.43 | 3.95% | B |
| 5 | Devils Punchbowl State Natural Area | OR | 97369 | ~3,500 | 18.42 | 3.11 | 3.89% | B |
| 5 | Santa Monica Beaches (Beach & Bay) | CA | 90401 | ~65,000 | 13.25 | 1.71 | 3.89% | B |
| 7 | Grand Lake Beach | CO | 80447 | ~4,500 | 10.18 | 1.90 | 3.55% | B |
| 8 | Van Damme State Park | CA | 95456 | ~2,500 | 13.10 | 3.05 | 3.46% | B |
| 9 | Pfeiffer Beach (Big Sur) | CA | 93920 | ~3,500 | 11.89 | 3.53 | 3.42% | B |
| 10 | Lincoln City (Roads End & Taft Bay) | OR | 97367 | ~16,000 | 21.62 | 2.72 | 3.40% | B |
Key Findings: Where Beachgoers Face the Highest Risk of Theft
- Ocean Shores, WA (North Jetty) takes the No. 1 spot for property risk, driven by a high overall rate of property crime (158.14 per 1,000) relative to its estimated daily visitor count.
- Folly Beach, SC ranks No. 2 with a 4.58% implied risk, reflecting elevated rates of area property crime and burglary (109.18 per 1,000) in the surrounding neighborhood.
- Santa Monica, CA lands at No. 5 with a 3.89% implied risk. While heavy daily visitor traffic significantly lowers its per-capita rate compared to standard census metrics, higher urban property crime rates in the 90401 area keep it among the top locations.
U.S. Beach Areas With the Lowest Risk of Theft
These U.S. beach areas reported the lowest levels of theft-related crime, making them some of the safest spots to enjoy a worry-free beach day.
| Rank | Beach Area | State | ZIP Code | Effective Daily Pop. | Adjusted Property Crime (per 1,000) | Adjusted Violent Crime (per 1,000) | Implied Theft Risk (%) | Safety Grade |
| 1 | New Smyrna Town Beach | FL | 32168 | ~32,000 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.00% | A+ |
| 2 | Cape Cod National Seashore & Marconi | MA | 02667 | ~35,000 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.00% | A+ |
| 3 | Sanibel Island (Bowman's, Blind Pass, Tarpon Bay) | FL | 33957 | ~15,000 | 0.12 | 0.02 | 0.05% | A+ |
| 4 | Key West (Fort Zachary Taylor, Higgs, South Beach) | FL | 33040 | ~55,000 | 0.03 | 0.00 | 0.01% | A+ |
| 4 | Siesta Key (Siesta, Turtle, Crescent) | FL | 34242 | ~32,000 | 0.03 | 0.00 | 0.01% | A+ |
| 4 | Virginia Beach Oceanfront | VA | 23456 | ~65,000 | 0.03 | 0.00 | 0.01% | A+ |
| 4 | Kailua Area (Lanikai & Kailua Beach Park) | HI | 96734 | ~45,000 | 0.03 | 0.00 | 0.01% | A+ |
| 8 | Rehoboth & Dewey Beach Area | DE | 19971 | ~35,000 | 0.25 | 0.05 | 0.09% | A+ |
| 9 | Hilton Head Island (Coligny & Palmetto Dunes) | SC | 29928 | ~55,000 | 0.92 | 0.19 | 0.31% | A+ |
| 10 | Waikiki Beach Corridor | HI | 96815 | ~85,000 | 1.46 | 0.12 | 0.51% | A+ |
Key Findings: The Safest Coastal Destinations
- Resort Corridors Win Big: Major resort hubs like Waikiki (HI), Siesta Key (FL), and Sanibel Island (FL) show implied risk scores under 0.5%, earning top A+ safety grades.
- Hawaii Destinations Rank High in Safety: Popular resort spots like Ka'anapali Beach (Maui) boast implied risk scores below 0.88% (A+) once daily visitor counts are incorporated.
- Property Crime vs. Personal Safety: Over 92% of all recorded incidents near beaches are non-violent thefts (unattended bags, unlocked bikes, rental car break-ins). Violent crime rates across more than 80% of analyzed beach ZIP codes remain below 0.5 per 1,000 visitors.
Which States Have the Most Theft-Prone Beaches?
While over 500 beaches were analyzed, only a handful of states consistently appeared in the top 20 highest-risk locations, based on how often their beaches ranked among those with the greatest risk of theft.
| State | Number of Beaches in Top 20 |
| California | 6 |
| Hawaii | 5 |
| Oregon | 3 |
| North Carolina | 2 |
| Washington | 1 |
| South Carolina | 1 |
| Colorado | 1 |
| Washington, D.C. / Other | 1 |
California and Hawaii lead the country, combined accounting for over half of the top 20 highest-risk beach areas. California’s risk is spread across major urban beach hubs and coastal state parks, while Hawaii’s entries highlight specific pockets with elevated vehicle break-ins and unattended towel theft.
Meanwhile, Pacific Northwest states like Oregon and Washington also feature prominently due to persistent parking lot property crimes relative to overall daily foot traffic.
What Beachgoers Are Losing And Who’s Taking It
From burritos and backpacks to iPhones and even designer sandals, nothing’s safe once you step away from your towel. Based on real TripAdvisor reviews, here’s a breakdown of the most commonly stolen beach items — and what beachgoers are really saying about the ones swiping their stuff.
But Not All Beach Thieves Walk on Two Legs
While most beach thefts are blamed on opportunistic passersby, some beaches in Florida, like Clearwater Beach and Fort De Soto Park, prove that nature can be just as mischievous. From seagulls swiping sandwiches (and even cigars), to raccoons unzipping backpacks and dolphins stealing fish off hooks, the culprits aren’t always human. Florida’s beaches are already notorious for shark encounters, but as these reviews show, even dry land has its fair share of wildlife surprises.
Here are a few notable TripAdvisor reviews that caught our attention:
“The raccoons were fearless. They opened our cooler and stole snacks while we were standing right there.” – Fort De Soto, Florida
“We saw dolphins hanging out by the pier… waiting for people to catch fish so they could snatch them off the line.” – Fort De Soto, Florida
“Seagulls at Clearwater Beach are savages. One stole a cigar right out of my husband’s hand.” – Clearwater Beach, Florida
Turns out, when it comes to beach theft, even the locals with wings, fins, or fur can’t be trusted.
This content was created to inform and entertain both general readers and risk-aware decision-makers. If you enjoy weighing the odds, whether it's spotting theft risk at the beach or testing your luck in a more controlled environment, you might also be interested in checking out this FanDuel Promo Code.
Methodology
To evaluate theft risk across U.S. beaches, our analysts executed a three-step data processing pipeline:
1. Sourcing Base Crime Statistics
We compiled a directory of major U.S. public beaches mapped to their respective ZIP codes using Zipcodebase and geographic directories. ZIP-level crime data was sourced from CrimeGrade.org, covering four primary property crime categories:
- Theft (40% Weight): Personal items stolen on or near the sand.
- Robbery (30% Weight): Confrontational theft in surrounding public areas.
- Vehicle Theft (20% Weight): Stolen vehicles, bikes, or golf carts from beach lots.
- Burglary (10% Weight): Break-ins at nearby vacation rentals, hotels, or parked cars.
2. Sourcing Tourist Density & Effective Population
To prevent small-population distortion, we calculated an Effective Daily Population denominator for every location:
- Resident Population Base: Sourced from US Census Bureau ZIP-code-level demographic tables.
- Visitor Density Estimates: Sourced using a hybrid model of regional CVB (Convention & Visitors Bureau) annual visitor reports, State/National Park Service annual entry counts divided by 365, and localized TripAdvisor review density proxies.
3. Deduplication & Implied Probability Calculation
Where multiple beaches share a single ZIP code (e.g., 11 distinct beach access points along Wailea, Maui), we aggregated them into a single regional node to eliminate duplicate data.
Our odds experts then applied our weighted scoring model against the Effective Daily Population to derive the final Implied Theft Risk Percentage (similar to what you'd see on the best sportsbooks) and safety grade for each beach destination.
You can see the full dataset here.
