New York is home to 19.86 million residents; Albany is its capital and New York City its largest city · Updated November 2026
Is New York safe?
Yes, crime in New York is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, New York sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 42% of Americans live. It ranks 43rd safest of the 50 states and Washington, DC. Violent and property crime both grade A- here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within New York run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe counties and cities below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 791 of 1,00043rd safest of the 50 states and DCi What this means
42% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than New York as a whole, and 58% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. New York scores 791.
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 New York at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in New York, 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 New York
Murder is less common here. New York has about 548 murders a year, a rate about half the national one.
The safest and most dangerous counties and cities in New York
Crime varies widely across New York: 62% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 28% in areas graded D or F. Grades across New York run from A+ to F; 45% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
62%10%28%
A or B 62%C 10%D or F 28%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
All 62 counties, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Cities of 10,000 or more residents, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Is crime going up in New York?
Reported violent crime in New York peaked in 2022 and has fallen 13% since, back near its 2019 level. Property crime is up 24% from 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.6 to 3.7 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 14 to 17 (US: 18). Neither changed much from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
New YorkUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across New York. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, New York
Violent, US
Property, New York
Property, US
2016
+5%
+4%
+13%
+15%
2017
+0%
+4%
+9%
+12%
2018
-2%
+0%
+5%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-2%
+4%
-1%
-8%
2021
+2%
+6%
-5%
-10%
2022
+20%
+5%
+25%
-6%
2023
+10%
+2%
+36%
-7%
2024
+4%
-4%
+24%
-15%
Crime rates and types in New York
CrimeGrade™ estimates New York has about 40 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 7% more than the US 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 New York, about 40% 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.
How New York compares with nearby states
New York has more crime than 7 of its 9 nearest states. Vermont and New Hampshire have the least crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from New York. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Density, transit and empty homes in New York
Two things set New York apart: it has 55% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and 37 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places like that tend to report more robbery and car theft, and they run high here.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.55% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 99% of Americans
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 New York: C- (32 of 100).37 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 99% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.6.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 57% of Americans
Show all 4
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.83% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 57% of Americans
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of New York on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more. Its Walk Grade for New York is B- (49 of 100).
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 New York
Crime costs New York about $1,068 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 11% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $8.24 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 $22.83 billion a year, or $1,150 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.02 billion
$51
Rape
$259 million
$13
Robbery
$596 million
$30
Assault
$3.40 billion
$171
Burglary
$242 million
$12
Theft
$1.46 billion
$74
Vehicle theft
$460 million
$23
Arson
$37 million
$2
Vandalism
$760 million
$38
Total
$8.24 billion
$415
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 New York 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 New York average a SchoolGrade of C+: 56% of students test proficient, against 54% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in New York on SchoolGrade
