Athens, West Athens, CA Violent Crime Rates and Maps

Athens is a neighborhood of 8,800 residents in West Athens · Updated November 2026

How common is violent crime in Athens?

Violent crime is high in Athens: an F, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 96% of Americans live. Assaults make up 86% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury. West Athens as a whole grades F for violent crime.

F
Violent crime CrimeGrade™Safety score 0 of 1,000
More violent crime than nearly all US neighborhoods What this means

4% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Athens as a whole, and 96% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Athens scores 0.

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 violent crime than most US neighborhoods.

F
Overall crimeSafety score 0 of 1,000Less safe than nearly all US neighborhoods
F
Property crimeSafety score 0 of 1,000More property crime than nearly all US neighborhoods

How it works


Violent crime map of Athens

Map of Athens shaded by violent crime CrimeGrade™, from green for the least crime to red for the most
Click the map to explore
F D C B A+
Highest crime Safest
Colorblind friendly off

How to read the map: each area's color compares its violent crime with the people who spend time there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy downtown or nightlife strip can show red while the homes around it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Athens, West Athens, CA at ISP Reports.

Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Athens in West Athens, 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 about violent crime in Athens

Robberies and aggravated assaults both run high. In Athens, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 4.5 robberies and 11.8 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 and 2.6 nationally.


Violent crime rates and types in Athens

CrimeGrade™ estimates Athens has about 37 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and close to West Athens as a whole.

All violent crime

Assaults

Robbery

Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Violent crime here includes simple assaults, which the FBI's violent crime rate leaves out.

Assault is the most common violent crime in Athens, about 86% of the total.

CrimeCrimeGrade™Reported a yearPer 1,000 residentsUS per 1,000
MurderF20.210.05
RapeB40.410.38
RobberyF394.50.62
AssaultD27731.512.3

Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a violent crime with the people who spend time in an area, not only the people who live there. 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.


Violent crime in Athens and nearby neighborhoods

Athens has more violent crime than 6 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods. North Torrance and Alondra Park have the least violent crime nearby.

Nearby neighborhoods

PlaceViolentOverallResidents
AthensF0F8,800
Morningside Park 3 milesC-378C-14,800
West Rancho Domingues 3 milesF36F4,480
Alondra Park 3 milesB+755B4,400
Watts 4 milesF0F38,600
Show all 10
PlaceViolentOverallResidents
Southeast Los Angeles 4 milesF0F195,600
North Torrance 4 milesA853B+38,900
Hyde Park 4 milesF0F36,000
South Los Angeles 4 milesF0F262,500
Harbor Gateway 4 milesB-590C+39,100
Windsor Hills 5 milesD+250D3,870

Nearest first, with each place's distance from Athens. Beside each violent crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).

Compared with neighborhoods of similar size and density, Athens has more violent crime than 87% of them.

Neighborhoods of similar size and density

PlaceViolentOverallResidents
AthensF0F8,800
Snail, Sunnyvale, CAA-826B+8,840
Gladstone, Chicago, ILA-802B8,820
Roosevelt-San Francisco, Redwood City, CAB+746B+8,760
Rmma, Austin, TXB656B-8,770
Show all 10
PlaceViolentOverallResidents
Chelsea, Atlantic City, NJC+522C+8,790
City Hall Monument District, New Britain, CTC+466C-8,770
Santa Clara Street, Hayward, CAC415D8,740
Saint Johns, Austin, TXD216D-8,800
Cattleman Square, San Antonio, TXD-101F8,770
University Village, Chicago, ILF0F8,790

Tree cover, jobs and walkability in Athens

Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Athens apart: it has tree cover over 3% of the land where people live, against 21% nationally, and 18 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places with little tree cover tend to report more robbery, and it runs high here.

Tree coverThe share of land under tree canopy where people live. Leafy neighborhoods tend to report less robbery.3% where people liveUS: 21%Lower than for 79% of residents of US city neighborhoods
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.18 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 72% 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 assault. 58% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (27 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 62% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Athens: C (37 of 100).16 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 66% 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 violent crime costs Athens

Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Athens about $45 million a year, or $5,130 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $9.1 million, or $1,031 per resident.

Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year


How CrimeGrade™ works

The violent crime CrimeGrade™ covers murder, rape, robbery and assault, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.

It weighs each violent crime against the people who spend time in an area, so a busy downtown is graded on its workers and visitors as well as its residents.

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
  • Population and housing figures from the US Census Bureau
  • 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.

More about CrimeGrade™ data