The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Manhattan, NY
Manhattan is a borough of New York City, home to 1.63 million residents · Updated November 2026
Is Manhattan, NY safe?
Manhattan has more crime than most of the country: an overall CrimeGrade™ of C+, with more crime than the neighborhoods where 81% of Americans live. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, B+ against D. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Manhattan run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
C+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 529 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
19% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Manhattan as a whole, and 81% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Manhattan scores 529.
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 Manhattan, NY at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Manhattan, 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 Manhattan
Robberies run high in Washington Heights, Harlem & Hamilton Heights. In this part of northeast Manhattan, they run at more than triple the rate in the rest of Manhattan.
Burglary is a strength. Manhattan grades D for property crime, but burglary grades A-.
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Manhattan, 79% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Manhattan
Crime varies widely across Manhattan: 29% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 54% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Manhattan run from A+ to F; 8% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
29%17%54%
A or B 29%C 17%D or F 54%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Neighborhood areas of Manhattan, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is crime going up in Manhattan?
Reported crime in Manhattan has risen since 2019: violent crime is up 15% and property crime up 58%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 5.7 to 6.6 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 15 to 23 (US: 18). Neither changed much from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
ManhattanUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police agencies that serve Manhattan. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Manhattan
Violent, US
Property, Manhattan
Property, US
2016
+1%
+4%
+1%
+15%
2017
-4%
+4%
+1%
+12%
2018
-4%
+0%
+4%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-4%
+4%
+1%
-8%
2021
+10%
+6%
+8%
-10%
2022
+28%
+5%
+44%
-6%
2023
+15%
+2%
+61%
-7%
2024
+15%
-4%
+58%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Manhattan
CrimeGrade™ estimates Manhattan has about 72 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 94% more than the US as a whole and 81% more than New York.
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 44% of crime reported in Manhattan. 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 Manhattan
The New York City Police Department polices Manhattan; these figures cover New York as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In New York as a whole, 50% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (50%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (79%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (79%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (40%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (45%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (50%)
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 Manhattan compares with nearby cities
Manhattan has the most crime of its 10 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Manhattan. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Transit, walkability and density in Manhattan
Two things set Manhattan apart: it has 153 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby, and a Walk Grade of A+ (96 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. It also combines many jobs with busy transit: places with both tend to report more theft and robbery than places with only one of them, and they run high here.
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 Manhattan: B+ (70 of 100).153 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 99% of US city residents
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. 99% of residents here live in walkable areas.A+ (96 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 99% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.100% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 99% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.153 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 99% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.25.3 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 99% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.1 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 99% of US city residents
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 Manhattan
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Manhattan about $1,375 a year per household, 14% more than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $1.13 billion a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $2.84 billion a year, or $1,741 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$94 million
$58
Rape
$20 million
$12
Robbery
$114 million
$70
Assault
$489 million
$300
Burglary
$32 million
$19
Theft
$264 million
$162
Vehicle theft
$31 million
$19
Arson
$3.3 million
$2
Vandalism
$79 million
$48
Total
$1.13 billion
$690
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 Manhattan 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
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 Manhattan, NY average a SchoolGrade of C: 55% of students test proficient, against 48% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Manhattan on SchoolGrade
