Downtown Berkeley, Berkeley, CA Violent Crime Rates and Maps
Downtown Berkeley is a neighborhood of 4,790 residents in Berkeley, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Downtown Berkeley?
Violent crime in Downtown Berkeley runs higher than in most US neighborhoods: a B+, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 69% of Americans live. Assaults make up 82% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury. Berkeley as a whole grades B for violent crime.
B+
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 752 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
31% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Downtown Berkeley as a whole, and 69% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Downtown Berkeley scores 752.
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 Downtown Berkeley, Berkeley, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Downtown Berkeley 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 Downtown Berkeley
Robberies and aggravated assaults both run high. In Downtown Berkeley, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 5.0 robberies and 9.7 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 and 2.6 nationally.
Violent crime rates and types in Downtown Berkeley
CrimeGrade™ estimates Downtown Berkeley has about 36 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and more than double the rate for Berkeley 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 Downtown Berkeley, about 82% 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 Downtown Berkeley and nearby neighborhoods
Downtown Berkeley has less violent crime than 8 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods; only North Berkeley and Elmwood have less.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Downtown Berkeley. 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, Downtown Berkeley is safer than 74% of them.
Walkability, jobs and nightlife in Downtown Berkeley
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Downtown Berkeley apart: it has a Walk Grade of A+ (93 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 155 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. 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. 100% of residents here live in walkable areas.A+ (93 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 95% of residents of US city neighborhoods
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.155 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 94% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.1.9 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 91% 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 Downtown Berkeley: C+ (47 of 100).50 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 87% 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 Downtown Berkeley
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Downtown Berkeley about $14 million a year, or $3,013 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $3.5 million, or $737 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. Downtown Berkeley 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.
