Central Berkeley is a neighborhood of 7,980 residents in Berkeley, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Central Berkeley in Berkeley safe?
Central Berkeley is among the higher-crime places in the US: an overall CrimeGrade™ of F, with more crime than the neighborhoods where 94% of Americans live. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, B against F. Berkeley as a whole grades C. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Central Berkeley run from C to F, so check the map below.
F
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000Less safe than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
6% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Central Berkeley as a whole, and 94% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Central Berkeley scores 0.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Central Berkeley, Berkeley, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Central Berkeley in Berkeley, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Central Berkeley
Vehicle theft at more than triple the US rate. Central Berkeley has 12.7 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
Crime rates and types in Central Berkeley
CrimeGrade™ estimates Central Berkeley has about 74 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about double the rate for the US as a whole and close to Berkeley as a whole.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft is the most common crime in Central Berkeley, about 45% of everything reported, but vehicle theft costs more, because each one does more harm.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
How Central Berkeley compares with nearby neighborhoods
Of the 10 neighborhoods closest to Central Berkeley, 7 have less crime. Berkeley Hills and North Berkeley have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Central Berkeley. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with neighborhoods of similar size and density, Central Berkeley has more crime than 79% of them.
Walkability, jobs and parking lots in Central Berkeley
Two things set Central Berkeley apart: it has a Walk Grade of A (81 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 13 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Very walkable places tend to report more theft and assault, and they run high here.
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft and assault. 78% of residents here live in walkable areas.A (81 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 84% of residents of US city neighborhoods
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.13 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 84% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 81% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.94% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 79% of residents of US city neighborhoods
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Central Berkeley
Crime costs Central Berkeley about $1,495 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 24% more than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $15 million a year, or $1,841 per resident.
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Central Berkeley means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Central Berkeley, Berkeley, CA average a SchoolGrade of A+: 71% of students test proficient, against 56% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Central Berkeley on SchoolGrade
