Northwest Berkeley is a neighborhood of 2,820 residents in Berkeley, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Northwest Berkeley in Berkeley safe?
Crime in Northwest Berkeley is high, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of D+. Most US neighborhoods have far less: 89% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Northwest Berkeley. Violent crime grades C+ and property crime F. Berkeley as a whole grades C. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from D to F; see the map below.
D+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 282 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
11% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Northwest Berkeley as a whole, and 89% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Northwest Berkeley scores 282.
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 Northwest Berkeley, Berkeley, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Northwest Berkeley in Berkeley, 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 Northwest Berkeley
Car thefts and thefts both run high. In Northwest Berkeley, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 29.0 car thefts and 125.0 thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 13.1 nationally.
Crime rates and types in Northwest Berkeley
CrimeGrade™ estimates Northwest Berkeley has about 250 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than triple the rate for the US as a whole and more than triple the rate for Berkeley 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.
The largest share of crime reported in Northwest Berkeley is theft, about 50% of the total. It also makes up 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 Northwest Berkeley compares with nearby neighborhoods
Northwest Berkeley has less crime than 5 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Northwest Berkeley. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with neighborhoods of similar size and density, Northwest Berkeley has more crime than 64% of them.
Shops, nightlife and walkability in Northwest Berkeley
Two things set Northwest Berkeley apart: it has 90.9 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 4.6 bars and nightlife spots for every 1,000 residents, against 0.6 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft and car theft, and they run high here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft and car theft.90.9 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher 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.4.6 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. 71% of residents here live in walkable areas.A- (74 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 80% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.275 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher 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 Northwest Berkeley
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Northwest Berkeley about $5,410 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 $20 million a year, or $6,978 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 Northwest Berkeley 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. Northwest Berkeley 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
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 Northwest Berkeley, Berkeley, CA average a SchoolGrade of A+: 68% of students test proficient, against 53% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Northwest Berkeley on SchoolGrade
