Seneca is a neighborhood of 2,930 residents in Buffalo, about 4 miles southeast of downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Seneca in Buffalo safe?
Seneca has more crime than most of the country: an overall CrimeGrade™ of C, with more crime than the neighborhoods where 85% of Americans live. Violent crime grades B- and property crime D. Buffalo as a whole grades C. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Seneca run from C to F, so check the map below.
C
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 431 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
15% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Seneca as a whole, and 85% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Seneca scores 431.
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 Seneca, Buffalo, NY at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Seneca in Buffalo, 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 Seneca
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Buffalo as a whole, 64% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
Crime rates and types in Seneca
CrimeGrade™ estimates Seneca has about 71 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 90% more than the US as a whole and close to Buffalo 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 Seneca, about 37% 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 Buffalo
The Buffalo Police Department polices Seneca; these figures cover Buffalo as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Buffalo as a whole, 69% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (69%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (65%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (64%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (37%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (53%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (50%)
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 Seneca compares with nearby neighborhoods
Seneca has less crime than 6 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Two things set Seneca apart: it has 3.8 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 19 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft and car theft, yet theft and car theft run higher here than that would suggest.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft and car theft.3.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 87% of residents of US city neighborhoods
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.19 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 71% 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 (38 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 54% 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.15% where people liveUS: 21%Higher than for 67% 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 Seneca
Crime costs Seneca about $1,510 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 25% 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 $5.7 million a year, or $1,961 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 Seneca 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 Seneca, Buffalo, NY average a SchoolGrade of F: 29% of students test proficient, against 43% projected for schools like them. Overall, they underperform expectations. See schools in Seneca on SchoolGrade
