Riverdale is a neighborhood of 5,840 residents in Detroit, about 12 miles northwest of downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Riverdale in Detroit safe?
Riverdale is among the higher-crime places in the US: an overall CrimeGrade™ of F, with more crime than the neighborhoods where 98% of Americans live. Violent crime grades F and property crime D-. Detroit as a whole grades F. Every neighborhood in Riverdale grades F.
F
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000Less safe than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
2% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Riverdale as a whole, and 98% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Riverdale scores 0.
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 Riverdale, Detroit, MI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Riverdale in Detroit, 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 Riverdale
Aggravated assaults and car thefts both run high. In Riverdale, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 15.1 aggravated assaults and 10.4 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 and 2.7 nationally.
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Detroit as a whole, 45% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
Crime rates and types in Riverdale
CrimeGrade™ estimates Riverdale has about 93 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and close to Detroit 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 Riverdale, 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.
Where and when crime happens in Detroit
The Detroit Police Department polices Riverdale; these figures cover Detroit as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Detroit as a whole, 81% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (81%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (51%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (45%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (57%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (40%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (64%)
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 Riverdale compares with nearby neighborhoods
Riverdale has the most crime of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Two things set Riverdale apart: it has 22.4% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 5 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary and vandalism run high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.22.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 99% of residents of US city neighborhoods
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.5 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 97% 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 (37 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 52% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Tree coverThe share of land under tree canopy where people live. Leafy neighborhoods tend to report less robbery.24% where people liveUS: 21%Higher than for 85% 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 Riverdale
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Riverdale about $4,589 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 $42 million a year, or $7,139 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 Riverdale 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
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 Riverdale, Detroit, MI average a SchoolGrade of F: 13% of students test proficient, against 12% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Riverdale on SchoolGrade
