Palm Beach Lakes is a neighborhood of 3,430 residents in West Palm Beach, about 2 miles west of downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Palm Beach Lakes in West Palm Beach safe?
Palm Beach Lakes has more crime than most of the country: an overall CrimeGrade™ of C, with more crime than the neighborhoods where 84% of Americans live. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, B- against C-. West Palm Beach as a whole grades B+.
C
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 451 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
16% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Palm Beach Lakes as a whole, and 84% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Palm Beach Lakes scores 451.
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 Palm Beach Lakes, West Palm Beach, FL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Palm Beach Lakes in West Palm Beach, 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 Palm Beach Lakes
Thefts run high. Palm Beach Lakes has thefts at about triple the US rate: 43.5 a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
Crime rates and types in Palm Beach Lakes
CrimeGrade™ estimates Palm Beach Lakes has about 85 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and more than double the rate for West Palm Beach 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 makes up about 51% of crime reported in Palm Beach Lakes. Assault is less common but 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 West Palm Beach
The West Palm Beach Police Department polices Palm Beach Lakes; these figures cover West Palm Beach as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In West Palm Beach as a whole, 62% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 45% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (62%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (44%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (45%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (33%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (43%)
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 Palm Beach Lakes compares with nearby neighborhoods
Palm Beach Lakes has more crime than 7 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods. Water Catchment Area and Downtown West Palm Beach have the least crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Palm Beach Lakes. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with neighborhoods of similar size and density, Palm Beach Lakes has more crime than 65% of them.
Transit, shops and walkability in Palm Beach Lakes
Two things set Palm Beach Lakes apart: it has 26.8 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 2.7% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places with many stores and restaurants tend to report more theft and car theft, and they run high here.
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 Palm Beach Lakes: C- (28 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 95% 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.26.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 94% 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.C+ (43 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 58% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.2.7% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower 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 Palm Beach Lakes
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Palm Beach Lakes about $3,686 a year per household, about 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 $14 million a year, or $4,157 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 Palm Beach Lakes 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. Palm Beach Lakes 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 Palm Beach Lakes, West Palm Beach, FL average a SchoolGrade of F: 40% of students test proficient, against 29% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Palm Beach Lakes on SchoolGrade
