Central is a neighborhood of 4,360 residents in Helena, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Central in Helena safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+, Central has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 64% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent and property crime both grade B+ here. Helena as a whole grades A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Central run from A to B, so check the map below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 754 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
36% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Central as a whole, and 64% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Central scores 754.
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, Helena, MT at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Central in Helena, 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
Theft at about double the US rate. Central has 28.2 thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
Crime rates and types in Central
CrimeGrade™ estimates Central has about 66 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 77% more than the US as a whole and 29% more than Helena 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 makes up about 43% of crime reported in Central. Assault is less common but 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.
Where and when crime happens in Helena
The Helena Police Department polices Central; these figures cover Helena as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Helena as a whole, 61% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 39% of them, against 18% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (61%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (34%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (39%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (37%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (46%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Central compares with nearby neighborhoods
Central has more crime than 8 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods. Fox Farm and Southeast have the least crime nearby.
Two things set Central apart: it has 3.6 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 166 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report more theft, and it runs high here.
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.6 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 96% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Central: F (4 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 95% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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.B- (55 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 67% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.166 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 94% 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
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Central about $1,466 a year per household, 22% 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 $8.5 million a year, or $1,955 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 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. Central is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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, Helena, MT average a SchoolGrade of B: 43% of students test proficient, against 38% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Central on SchoolGrade
