North Beach is a neighborhood of 16,100 residents in San Francisco, about 2 miles northeast of downtown · Updated November 2026
Is North Beach in San Francisco safe?
North Beach has more crime than most of the country: an overall CrimeGrade™ of C+, with more crime than the neighborhoods where 83% of Americans live. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, B+ against F. San Francisco as a whole grades C. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within North Beach run from B to F, so check the map below.
C+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 477 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
17% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than North Beach as a whole, and 83% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. North Beach scores 477.
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 Beach, San Francisco, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in North Beach in San Francisco, 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 Beach
Robberies and acts of vandalism both run high. In North Beach, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 3.5 robberies and 28.9 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 and 5.5 nationally.
How North Beach compares within San Francisco
High crime is widespread across North Beach: 61% of residents live in areas graded D or F, and 10% in areas graded A or B. Grades across North Beach run from B to F; every part of North Beach has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.
10%29%61%
A or B 10%C 29%D or F 61%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
North Beach has less crime than 27 of the 43 neighborhoods in San Francisco. It covers much of the Downtown San Francisco, South of Market, and North Beach areas.
Is crime going up in San Francisco?
Reported crime in San Francisco as a whole has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 14% and property crime down 31%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 6.8 to 5.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 56 to 38 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 15% and property crime fell 30%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
San FranciscoUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments that serve San Francisco. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, San Francisco
Violent, US
Property, San Francisco
Property, US
2016
+5%
+4%
-2%
+15%
2017
+6%
+4%
+12%
+12%
2018
+4%
+0%
+1%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-19%
+4%
-20%
-8%
2021
-0%
+6%
+4%
-10%
2022
-3%
+5%
+6%
-6%
2023
+0%
+2%
-2%
-7%
2024
-14%
-4%
-31%
-15%
Crime rates and types in North Beach
CrimeGrade™ estimates North Beach has about 99 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and 52% more than San Francisco 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 is the most common crime in North Beach, about 41% 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 North Beach compares with nearby neighborhoods
North Beach has less crime than 8 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods; only Marina-San Francisco and Financial District have less.
Two things set North Beach apart: it has a Walk Grade of A+ (96 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 4.2 bars and nightlife spots for every 1,000 residents, against 0.6 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft and assault, and theft runs high here.
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 98% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.4.2 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 97% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft and car theft.39.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 97% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.113 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 90% 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 North Beach
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs North Beach about $1,723 a year per household, 43% 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 $33 million a year, or $2,051 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 North Beach 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. North Beach 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 North Beach, San Francisco, CA average a SchoolGrade of A+: 60% of students test proficient, against 49% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in North Beach on SchoolGrade
