Westside is a neighborhood of 6,300 residents in Missoula, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Westside in Missoula safe?
Crime in Westside is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 75% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Westside. Violent crime grades B and property crime B-. Missoula as a whole grades A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Westside run from A- to C+, so check the map below.
B
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 626 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
25% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Westside as a whole, and 75% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Westside scores 626.
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 Westside, Missoula, MT at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Westside in Missoula, 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 Westside
Thefts run high. Westside has thefts at more than triple the US rate: 67.2 a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
Burglaries happen at stores and businesses far more often than nationally. In Missoula as a whole, 56% of reported burglaries happen at stores and businesses, against 28% nationally.
Crime rates and types in Westside
CrimeGrade™ estimates Westside has about 119 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about triple the rate for the US as a whole and more than double the rate for Missoula 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 56% of crime reported in Westside. 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 Missoula
The Missoula Police Department polices Westside; these figures cover Missoula as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 51% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (56%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (41%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (51%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (41%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (41%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (40%)
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 Westside compares with nearby neighborhoods
Westside has more crime than 9 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods. Upper Rattlesnake and Captain John Mullan have the least crime nearby.
Two things set Westside apart: it has 6.1 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 27.5 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places with both tend to report more theft and car theft than places with only one of them, and they run high here.
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.6.1 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 99% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft and car theft.27.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 94% 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. 51% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C (38 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 55% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.120 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 91% 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 Westside
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Westside about $2,209 a year per household, 83% 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 $18 million a year, or $2,894 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 Westside 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. Westside 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 Westside, Missoula, MT average a SchoolGrade of A-: 43% of students test proficient, against 39% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Westside on SchoolGrade
