SouthWest Berkeley is a neighborhood of 16,600 residents in Berkeley, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
Is SouthWest Berkeley in Berkeley safe?
Crime in SouthWest Berkeley is high, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of F. Most US neighborhoods have far less: 94% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than SouthWest Berkeley. Violent crime grades D+ and property crime F. Berkeley as a whole grades C. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from D- to F; see the map below.
F
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000Less safe than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
6% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than SouthWest Berkeley as a whole, and 94% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. SouthWest Berkeley 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 SouthWest Berkeley, Berkeley, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in SouthWest Berkeley in Berkeley, 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 SouthWest Berkeley
Car thefts and robberies both run high. In SouthWest Berkeley, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 17.7 car thefts and 3.2 robberies a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 0.62 nationally.
How SouthWest Berkeley compares within Berkeley
Every part of SouthWest Berkeley grades D or F on the national scale. Grades across SouthWest Berkeley run from D- to F; every part of SouthWest Berkeley has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
D or F 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
SouthWest Berkeley has less crime than 0 of the 12 neighborhoods in Berkeley. It covers much of the SouthWest Berkeley area.
Is crime going up in Berkeley?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Berkeley as a whole is up 23%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 5.0 to 6.2 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 51 to 50 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 14%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
BerkeleyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments that serve Berkeley. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Berkeley
Violent, US
Property, Berkeley
Property, US
2016
-1%
+4%
-12%
+15%
2017
+8%
+4%
-3%
+12%
2018
-5%
+0%
-14%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-13%
+4%
-12%
-8%
2021
+9%
+6%
+8%
-10%
2022
+12%
+5%
+7%
-6%
2023
+32%
+2%
+16%
-7%
2024
+23%
-4%
-0%
-15%
Crime rates and types in SouthWest Berkeley
CrimeGrade™ estimates SouthWest Berkeley has about 110 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about triple the rate for the US as a whole and 60% more than Berkeley 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 44% of crime reported in SouthWest Berkeley. 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.
How SouthWest Berkeley compares with nearby neighborhoods
SouthWest Berkeley has more crime than 6 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods. North Berkeley and Downtown Berkeley have the least crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from SouthWest Berkeley. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with neighborhoods of similar size and density, SouthWest Berkeley has more crime than 80% of them.
Shops, walkability and nightlife in SouthWest Berkeley
Two things set SouthWest Berkeley apart: it has 19.4 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and a Walk Grade of A (81 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report more theft and car theft, and they run high here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft and car theft.19.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 88% 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. 83% of residents here live in walkable areas.A (81 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 85% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.1.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 80% 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.10.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 79% 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 SouthWest Berkeley
Crime costs SouthWest Berkeley about $3,244 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, more than 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 $65 million a year, or $3,908 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 SouthWest Berkeley 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 SouthWest Berkeley, Berkeley, CA average a SchoolGrade of A+: 60% of students test proficient, against 50% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in SouthWest Berkeley on SchoolGrade
