West End Helena is a neighborhood of 5,750 residents in Helena, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
Is West End Helena in Helena safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+, West End Helena has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 65% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent and property crime both grade B+ here. Helena as a whole grades A-. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A to B+; see the map below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 745 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
35% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than West End Helena as a whole, and 65% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. West End Helena scores 745.
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 West End Helena, Helena, MT at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in West End Helena in Helena, 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 West End Helena
Crime per resident runs higher than the grade. West End Helena draws many workers, shoppers and visitors: it has 135 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Crimes against them are counted against the few who live here, so crime per resident looks higher than the CrimeGrade™ suggests. The CrimeGrade™ counts everyone who spends time here.
Crime rates and types in West End Helena
CrimeGrade™ estimates West End Helena has about 62 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 67% more than the US as a whole and 21% more than Helena 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 38% of crime reported in West End Helena. 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 Helena
The Helena Police Department polices West End Helena; these figures cover Helena as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Helena as a whole, 61% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 39% of them, against 18% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (61%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (34%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (39%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (37%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (46%)
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 West End Helena compares with nearby neighborhoods
West End Helena has more crime than 9 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods. Fox Farm and Southeast have the least crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from West End Helena. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with neighborhoods of similar size and density, West End Helena is safer than 65% of them.
Night lighting, transit and walkability in West End Helena
One thing sets West End Helena apart: it has 2.4 bars and nightlife spots for every 1,000 residents, against 0.6 nationally. Places like that tend to report more assault and robbery, and assault runs high here.
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.93% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 97% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for West End Helena: F (4 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 95% 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+ (48 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 62% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
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 94% 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 West End Helena
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs West End Helena about $1,158 a year per household, about the same as 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 $11 million a year, or $1,954 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 West End Helena 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 West End Helena, Helena, MT average a SchoolGrade of A-: 45% of students test proficient, against 43% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in West End Helena on SchoolGrade
