South Southeast 3 is a neighborhood of 8,040 residents in Topeka, about 4 miles south of downtown · Updated November 2026
Is South Southeast 3 in Topeka safe?
Crime in South Southeast 3 is high by national standards, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of C+. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 82% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than South Southeast 3. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, B against C. Topeka as a whole grades B-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within South Southeast 3 run from A- to D, so check the map below.
C+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 504 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
18% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than South Southeast 3 as a whole, and 82% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. South Southeast 3 scores 504.
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 South Southeast 3, Topeka, KS at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in South Southeast 3 in Topeka, 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 South Southeast 3
Car thefts happen at homes far more often than nationally. In Topeka as a whole, 58% of reported car thefts happen at homes, against 33% nationally.
Crime rates and types in South Southeast 3
CrimeGrade™ estimates South Southeast 3 has about 59 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 59% more than the US as a whole and close to Topeka 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 34% of crime reported in South Southeast 3. 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 Topeka
The Topeka Police Department polices South Southeast 3; these figures cover Topeka as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Topeka as a whole, 71% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 51% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (71%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (58%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (51%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (61%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Homes (42%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (65%)
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 South Southeast 3 compares with nearby neighborhoods
Of the 10 neighborhoods closest to South Southeast 3, 8 have less crime. Prairie-Piper-KC-KS and I-435 West KC-KS have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from South Southeast 3. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with neighborhoods of similar size and density, South Southeast 3 has more crime than 75% of them.
Density, parking lots and walkability in South Southeast 3
Two things set South Southeast 3 apart: it has 1% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and 3.8 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places where few residents live in dense blocks tend to report less robbery and car theft, yet car theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 98% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.8 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 96% 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. 97% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (7 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 96% 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.99% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 89% 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 South Southeast 3
Crime costs South Southeast 3 about $2,002 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 66% 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 $22 million a year, or $2,785 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 South Southeast 3 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 South Southeast 3, Topeka, KS average a SchoolGrade of D: 31% of students test proficient, against 30% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in South Southeast 3 on SchoolGrade
