The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Riverdale, GA
Riverdale is a city of 66,000 in Clayton County, about 13 miles south of downtown Atlanta · Updated November 2026
Is Riverdale, GA safe?
Riverdale is among the higher-crime places in the US: an overall CrimeGrade™ of D, with more crime than the neighborhoods where 90% of Americans live. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, C+ against D-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Riverdale run from B to F, so check the map below.
D
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 227 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
10% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Riverdale as a whole, and 90% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Riverdale scores 227.
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, GA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Riverdale, 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
Murder runs high. Riverdale has about 11 murders a year, a rate about triple the national one.
The safest and least safe parts of Riverdale
High crime is widespread across Riverdale: 64% of residents live in areas graded D or F, and 5% in areas graded A or B. Grades across Riverdale run from B to F; every part of Riverdale has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.
31%64%
A or B 5%C 31%D or F 64%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Riverdale, the southwest side has the least crime and the north side the most.
Crime rates and types in Riverdale
CrimeGrade™ estimates Riverdale has about 66 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 78% more than the US as a whole and 83% more than Georgia.
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.
Simple assault is the most common crime in Riverdale, about 35% of everything reported, but murder costs more, because each one does far 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.
How Riverdale compares with nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to Riverdale, 9 have less crime. Lake City and Rex have the least.
Two things set Riverdale apart: it has 15 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 5.2 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places like that tend to report less theft and robbery, yet theft and robbery run higher here than that would suggest.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.15 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 93% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.5.2 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 91% of US city residents
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. 95% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (10 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 78% of US city residents
Show all 6
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%Higher than for 81% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 71% of US city residents
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 Riverdale: D (15 of 100).4 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 67% of US city residents
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
Crime costs Riverdale about $2,536 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, about double 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 $237 million a year, or $3,591 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$21 million
$317
Rape
$1.4 million
$21
Robbery
$1.9 million
$29
Aggravated assault
$8.9 million
$135
Simple assault
$11 million
$167
Burglary
$1.7 million
$26
Theft
$5.7 million
$87
Vehicle theft
$5.0 million
$76
Arson
$84,000
$1
Vandalism
$5.8 million
$88
Total
$62 million
$946
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
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 Riverdale, GA average a SchoolGrade of F: 21% of students test proficient, against 26% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Riverdale on SchoolGrade
