The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in North Atlanta, GA
North Atlanta is a city of 44,300 in DeKalb County, about 8 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta · Updated November 2026
Is North Atlanta, GA safe?
Crime in North Atlanta is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 74% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than North Atlanta. Violent and property crime both grade B here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within North Atlanta run from A- to F, so check the map below.
B
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 649 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
26% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than North Atlanta as a whole, and 74% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. North Atlanta scores 649.
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 North Atlanta, GA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in North Atlanta, 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 North Atlanta
Car thefts happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In North Atlanta, 68% of reported car thefts happen in parking lots and garages, against 23% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of North Atlanta
Most of North Atlanta grades well: 67% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 7% in areas graded D or F. Grades across North Atlanta run from A- to F; 13% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
67%26%
A or B 67%C 26%D or F 7%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within North Atlanta, the northwest side has the least crime and the south side the most.
Is crime going up in North Atlanta?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in North Atlanta is down 21%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.8 to 3.0 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 24 to 22 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 17% and property crime fell 13%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
North AtlantaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves North Atlanta. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, North Atlanta
Violent, US
Property, North Atlanta
Property, US
2016
-15%
+4%
+11%
+15%
2017
-8%
+4%
+13%
+12%
2018
-9%
+0%
+12%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+4%
+4%
+4%
-8%
2021
+13%
+6%
+4%
-10%
2022
+16%
+5%
-10%
-6%
2023
-5%
+2%
+6%
-7%
2024
-21%
-4%
-8%
-15%
Crime rates and types in North Atlanta
CrimeGrade™ estimates North Atlanta has about 41 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 11% more than the US as a whole and close to Georgia.
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 North Atlanta, about 43% of everything reported, but assault 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 North Atlanta
The Brookhaven Police Department polices North Atlanta; these figures cover Brookhaven as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Brookhaven as a whole, 55% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 67% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (55%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (68%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (67%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (47%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Parking lots and garages (31%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (47%)
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 North Atlanta compares with nearby cities
North Atlanta has less crime than 5 of its 10 nearest cities.
Parking lots, night lighting and walkability in North Atlanta
Two things set North Atlanta apart: it has 0.4 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 11.9% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places with little parking-lot space tend to report less theft, yet theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.4 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 92% of US city residents
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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 92% 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. 65% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (27 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 77% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.11.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 92% of US city residents
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 North Atlanta: D+ (23 of 100).7 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 77% 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.38% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 75% 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 North Atlanta
Crime costs North Atlanta about $1,104 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 8% less 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 $64 million a year, or $1,439 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$4.7 million
$107
Rape
$800,000
$18
Robbery
$1.5 million
$34
Assault
$5.4 million
$123
Burglary
$1.2 million
$27
Theft
$4.0 million
$91
Vehicle theft
$1.5 million
$35
Arson
$86,000
$2
Vandalism
$1.4 million
$32
Total
$21 million
$467
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 North Atlanta 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 North Atlanta, GA average a SchoolGrade of B: 43% of students test proficient, against 45% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in North Atlanta on SchoolGrade
