Berkeley is a city of 126,300 in Alameda County, about 10 miles northeast of downtown San Francisco · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Berkeley?
Violent crime is high in Berkeley: a B, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 77% of Americans live. Assaults make up 84% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
B
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 666 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
23% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Berkeley as a whole, and 77% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Berkeley scores 666.
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.
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 Berkeley, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Berkeley, 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 Berkeley
Robberies run high in South Berkeley & Bushrod. In this part of south Berkeley, they run at about triple the rate in the rest of Berkeley.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Berkeley
In Berkeley, 72% of residents live in areas graded A or B for violent crime, 12% in areas graded C and 16% in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Berkeley run from A+ to F.
72%12%16%
A or B 72%C 12%D or F 16%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Berkeley Hills, northeastSimple assaults run at less than half the rate in the rest of Berkeley.A892
6Westbrae, northwestRobberies run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Berkeley.B+711
7SouthWest Berkeley, westAggravated assaults run about 80% higher here than in the rest of Berkeley.C+475
8South Berkeley & Bushrod, southAggravated assaults run about 90% higher here than in the rest of Berkeley.D206
Neighborhood areas of Berkeley, ranked by violent crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is violent crime going up in Berkeley?
Reported violent crime in Berkeley has risen 23% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 5.0 to 6.2 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). Violent crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
BerkeleyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Berkeley. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Berkeley
Violent, US
2016
-1%
+4%
2017
+8%
+4%
2018
-5%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-13%
+4%
2021
+9%
+6%
2022
+12%
+5%
2023
+32%
+2%
2024
+23%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Berkeley
CrimeGrade™ estimates Berkeley has about 14 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about the same as the US as a whole and 17% more than California.
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 Berkeley, about 84% of the total.
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 Berkeley and nearby cities
Berkeley has more violent crime than 5 of its 8 nearest cities. Orinda and Piedmont have the least violent crime nearby.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Berkeley apart: it has a Walk Grade of B+ (70 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 78% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. It also combines many jobs with busy transit: places with both tend to report more robbery than places with only one of them, and it runs high here.
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. 66% of residents here live in walkable areas.B+ (70 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 96% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.78% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 92% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Berkeley: C (36 of 100).22 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 92% of US city residents
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.58 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 73% of US city residents
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 Berkeley
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Berkeley about $193 million a year, or $1,528 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $42 million, or $335 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 78% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$11 million
$90
Rape
$3.3 million
$26
Robbery
$6.8 million
$54
Assault
$21 million
$165
Total
$42 million
$335
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
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.
