Southwest Detroit is a neighborhood of 9,130 residents in Detroit, about 3 miles west of downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Southwest Detroit in Detroit safe?
Southwest Detroit is among the higher-crime places in the US: an overall CrimeGrade™ of D+, with more crime than the neighborhoods where 89% of Americans live. Violent crime grades D- and property crime C. Detroit as a whole grades F. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Southwest Detroit run from C to F, so check the map below.
D+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 242 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
11% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Southwest Detroit as a whole, and 89% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Southwest Detroit scores 242.
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 Detroit, Detroit, MI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Southwest Detroit 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 Southwest Detroit
Aggravated assault at about triple the US rate. Southwest Detroit has 7.8 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 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 Southwest Detroit
CrimeGrade™ estimates Southwest Detroit has about 58 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 56% more than the US as a whole and 46% less than 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.
The largest share of crime reported in Southwest Detroit is assault, about 39% of the total. It also makes up 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 Southwest Detroit; 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 Southwest Detroit compares with nearby neighborhoods
Southwest Detroit has less crime than 8 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods; only Downtown Detroit and Hubbard-Richard have less.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Southwest Detroit. 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 Detroit has more crime than 66% of them.
Empty homes, nightlife and walkability in Southwest Detroit
Two things set Southwest Detroit apart: it has 14.9% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 1.5 bars and nightlife spots for every 1,000 residents, against 0.6 nationally. Places like that 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.14.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 94% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.1.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher 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.B (57 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 70% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.3 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 71% 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 Detroit
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Southwest Detroit about $3,196 a year per household, 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 $33 million a year, or $3,637 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 Detroit 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 Southwest Detroit, Detroit, MI average a SchoolGrade of F: 16% of students test proficient, against 17% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Southwest Detroit on SchoolGrade
