University Square is a neighborhood of 7,160 residents in Tampa, about 7 miles north of downtown · Updated November 2026
Is University Square in Tampa safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B-, University Square has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 76% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A- against C+. Tampa as a whole grades B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within University Square run from B to D, so check the map below.
B-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 609 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
24% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than University Square as a whole, and 76% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. University Square scores 609.
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 University Square, Tampa, FL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in University Square in Tampa, 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
Crime rates and types in University Square
CrimeGrade™ estimates University Square has about 64 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 72% more than the US as a whole and 84% more than Tampa 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 University Square is assault, about 45% 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 Tampa
The Tampa Police Department polices University Square; these figures cover Tampa as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Tampa as a whole, 61% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 44% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (61%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (37%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (44%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (46%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (42%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (44%)
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; they are over one in five for burglary, car theft, theft from cars, vandalism, robbery, aggravated assault.
How University Square compares with nearby neighborhoods
University Square has less crime than 7 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from University Square. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with neighborhoods of similar size and density, University Square has more crime than 50% of them.
Shops, nightlife and walkability in University Square
Two things set University Square apart: it has 46.8 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 2.4 bars and nightlife spots for every 1,000 residents, against 0.6 nationally. It also combines many stores and restaurants with a lot of parking-lot space: places with both tend to report more theft and car theft than places with only one of them, and car theft runs high here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft and car theft.46.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 98% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.2.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 93% 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 (39 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 56% 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.2.0 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 86% 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 University Square
Crime costs University Square about $2,533 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 $25 million a year, or $3,464 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 University Square 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. University Square is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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 University Square, Tampa, FL average a SchoolGrade of F: 33% of students test proficient, against 30% projected for schools like them. Overall, they underperform expectations. See schools in University Square on SchoolGrade
