Downtown Tempe is a neighborhood of 9,200 residents in Tempe, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Downtown Tempe in Tempe safe?
Crime in Downtown Tempe is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 71% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Downtown Tempe. Violent crime grades B+ and property crime B-. Tempe as a whole grades B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Downtown Tempe run from A- to C, so check the map below.
B
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 680 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
29% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Downtown Tempe as a whole, and 71% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Downtown Tempe scores 680.
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 Downtown Tempe, Tempe, AZ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Downtown Tempe in Tempe, 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 Downtown Tempe
Thefts and simple assaults both run high. In Downtown Tempe, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 48.9 thefts and 54.3 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 and 9.7 nationally.
Car thefts happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In Tempe as a whole, 49% of reported car thefts happen in parking lots and garages, against 23% nationally.
Crime rates and types in Downtown Tempe
CrimeGrade™ estimates Downtown Tempe has about 137 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than triple the rate for the US as a whole and about double the rate for Tempe 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.
Assault is the most common crime in Downtown Tempe, about 44% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
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 Tempe
The Tempe Police Department polices Downtown Tempe; these figures cover Tempe as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Tempe as a whole, 49% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 50% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (49%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (49%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (50%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (43%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (34%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (35%)
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 Downtown Tempe compares with nearby neighborhoods
Downtown Tempe has the least crime of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Two things set Downtown Tempe apart: it has 440 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 5.2 bars and nightlife spots for every 1,000 residents, against 0.6 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft and robbery, yet theft and robbery run lower here than that would suggest.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.440 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 99% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.5.2 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 98% 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. 82% of residents here live in walkable areas.A- (78 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 82% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.17.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 97% 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 Downtown Tempe
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Downtown Tempe about $5,863 a year per household, more than triple 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 $28 million a year, or $3,062 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 Downtown Tempe 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. Downtown Tempe 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
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 Downtown Tempe, Tempe, AZ average a SchoolGrade of D+: 28% of students test proficient, against 32% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Downtown Tempe on SchoolGrade
