Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco, CA Violent Crime Rates and Maps
Downtown San Francisco is a neighborhood of 44,900 residents in San Francisco, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Downtown San Francisco?
Violent crime is high in Downtown San Francisco: a C+, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 86% of Americans live. Assaults make up 78% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury. San Francisco as a whole grades B+ for violent crime.
C+
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 481 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
14% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Downtown San Francisco as a whole, and 86% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Downtown San Francisco scores 481.
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 San Francisco, San Francisco, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Downtown San Francisco in San Francisco, 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 San Francisco
Robberies and aggravated assaults both run high. In Downtown San Francisco, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 8.7 robberies and 11.9 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 and 2.6 nationally.
How Downtown San Francisco compares within San Francisco
Violent crime changes a lot from one part of Downtown San Francisco to the next: 42% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 41% live in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Downtown San Francisco run from A+ to F.
42%17%41%
A or B 42%C 17%D or F 41%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Downtown San Francisco has less violent crime than 2 of the 43 neighborhoods in San Francisco. It covers much of the Downtown San Francisco, South of Market, and North Beach areas.
Is violent crime going up in San Francisco?
Reported violent crime in San Francisco as a whole has fallen 14% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 6.8 to 5.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 15%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
San FranciscoUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments that serve San Francisco. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, San Francisco
Violent, US
2016
+5%
+4%
2017
+6%
+4%
2018
+4%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-19%
+4%
2021
-0%
+6%
2022
-3%
+5%
2023
+0%
+2%
2024
-14%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Downtown San Francisco
CrimeGrade™ estimates Downtown San Francisco has about 44 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about triple the rate for the US as a whole and more than triple the rate for San Francisco 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 San Francisco, about 78% 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 San Francisco and nearby neighborhoods
Downtown San Francisco has the most violent crime of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Downtown San Francisco. 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 San Francisco has more violent crime than 64% of them.
Tree cover, walkability and nightlife in Downtown San Francisco
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Downtown San Francisco apart: it has tree cover over 0% of the land where people live, against 21% nationally, and a Walk Grade of A+ (98 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that 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.under 1% where people liveUS: 21%Lower than for 99% 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. 100% of residents here live in walkable areas.A+ (98 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 99% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.3.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 95% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.185 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 95% 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 San Francisco
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Downtown San Francisco about $176 million a year, or $3,917 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $44 million, or $973 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 San Francisco 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
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.
