Washington Heights is a neighborhood of 6,820 residents in Milwaukee, about 4 miles west of downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Washington Heights in Milwaukee safe?
Washington Heights 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 C- and property crime D. Milwaukee as a whole grades F. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Washington Heights run from B to F, so check the map below.
D+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 265 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
11% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Washington Heights as a whole, and 89% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Washington Heights scores 265.
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 Washington Heights, Milwaukee, WI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Washington Heights in Milwaukee, 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 Washington Heights
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Milwaukee as a whole, 55% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
Vehicle theft at more than double the US rate. Washington Heights has 5.9 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
Crime rates and types in Washington Heights
CrimeGrade™ estimates Washington Heights has about 33 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 11% less than the US as a whole and 50% less than Milwaukee 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 Washington Heights is assault, about 30% 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 Milwaukee
The Milwaukee Police Department polices Washington Heights; these figures cover Milwaukee as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Milwaukee as a whole, 64% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (64%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (62%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (55%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (37%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (54%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (55%)
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 Washington Heights compares with nearby neighborhoods
Washington Heights has less crime than 7 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Washington Heights. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with neighborhoods of similar size and density, Washington Heights has more crime than 64% of them.
Jobs, nightlife and walkability in Washington Heights
Two things set Washington Heights apart: it has 10 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 1.2 bars and nightlife spots for every 1,000 residents, against 0.6 nationally. Places with few jobs tend to report less theft and robbery, yet theft and robbery run higher here than that would suggest.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.10 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 90% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.1.2 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 84% 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- (50 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 64% 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.0.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 83% 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 Washington Heights
Crime costs Washington Heights about $1,420 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 18% 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 $15 million a year, or $2,196 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 Washington Heights 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. Washington Heights is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower 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
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 Washington Heights, Milwaukee, WI average a SchoolGrade of D-: 26% of students test proficient, against 19% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Washington Heights on SchoolGrade
