Old Northwest-West University is a neighborhood of 22,400 residents in Reno, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Old Northwest-West University in Reno safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B-, Old Northwest-West University has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 77% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent crime grades B- and property crime B. Reno as a whole grades B. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Old Northwest-West University run from B to C-, so check the map below.
B-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 603 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
23% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Old Northwest-West University as a whole, and 77% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Old Northwest-West University scores 603.
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 Old Northwest-West University, Reno, NV at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Old Northwest-West University in Reno, 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 Old Northwest-West University
Reported rape stands out among B-graded neighborhoods. For the typical resident of a B-graded US neighborhood, the figure is 0.33 reported rapes a year per 1,000 residents; Old Northwest-West University has 0.74.
How Old Northwest-West University compares within Reno
Low crime is the norm across Old Northwest-West University: 67% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Old Northwest-West University run from B to C-; every part of Old Northwest-West University has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.
67%33%
A or B 67%C 33%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Old Northwest-West University has less crime than 5 of the 10 neighborhoods in Reno. It covers much of the Northeast and Old Northwest-West University areas.
Is crime going up in Reno?
Reported violent crime in Reno as a whole peaked in 2022 and has fallen 15% since, back near its 2019 level. Property crime is up 7% from 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 5.6 to 5.3 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 23 to 24 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 13%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
RenoUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments that serve Reno. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Reno
Violent, US
Property, Reno
Property, US
2016
+27%
+4%
+45%
+15%
2017
+21%
+4%
+38%
+12%
2018
+17%
+0%
+7%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+5%
+4%
+14%
-8%
2021
+3%
+6%
+28%
-10%
2022
+10%
+5%
+17%
-6%
2023
+8%
+2%
+18%
-7%
2024
-6%
-4%
+7%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Old Northwest-West University
CrimeGrade™ estimates Old Northwest-West University has about 54 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 45% more than the US as a whole and close to Reno 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 Old Northwest-West University, about 36% 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.
Where and when crime happens in Reno
The Reno Police Department polices Old Northwest-West University; these figures cover Reno as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Reno as a whole, 49% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 49% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (49%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (39%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (49%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (31%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (44%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (40%)
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 Old Northwest-West University compares with nearby neighborhoods
Old Northwest-West University has less crime than 5 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Old Northwest-West University. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with neighborhoods of similar size and density, Old Northwest-West University has more crime than 59% of them.
Jobs, walkability and nightlife in Old Northwest-West University
Two things set Old Northwest-West University apart: it has 99 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 1.0 bars and nightlife spots for every 1,000 residents, against 0.6 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft and robbery, and robbery runs high here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.99 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 88% 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. 94% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (15 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 83% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.1.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 81% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 81% 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 Old Northwest-West University
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Old Northwest-West University about $1,756 a year per household, 46% 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 $55 million a year, or $2,454 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 Old Northwest-West University 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 Old Northwest-West University, Reno, NV average a SchoolGrade of C+: 35% of students test proficient, against 31% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Old Northwest-West University on SchoolGrade
