Peterson is a neighborhood of 6,250 residents in Tempe, about 3 miles south of downtown · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Peterson?
Violent crime is high in Peterson: a B-, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 81% of Americans live. Assaults make up 95% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury. Tempe as a whole grades B+ for violent crime.
B-
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 602 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
19% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Peterson as a whole, and 81% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Peterson scores 602.
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 Peterson, Tempe, AZ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Peterson in Tempe, 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
Violent crime rates and types in Peterson
CrimeGrade™ estimates Peterson has about 29 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about double the rate for the US as a whole and 30% more than Tempe 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 Peterson, about 95% 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.
Where and when violent crime happens in Tempe
The Tempe Police Department polices Peterson; these figures cover Tempe as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Tempe as a whole, 35% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often at stores and businesses: 34% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Stores and businesses (34%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (35%)
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.
Violent crime in Peterson and nearby neighborhoods
Peterson has more violent crime than 7 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods. Downtown Tempe and Tempe Royal Estates have the least violent crime nearby.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Peterson apart: it has tree cover over 2% of the land where people live, against 21% nationally, and 1.1 bars and nightlife spots for every 1,000 residents, against 0.6 nationally. Places like that tend to report more robbery.
Tree coverThe share of land under tree canopy where people live. Leafy neighborhoods tend to report less robbery.2% where people liveUS: 21%Lower than for 85% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.1.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 83% 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.C+ (42 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 58% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.61 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 76% 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 Peterson
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Peterson about $10 million a year, or $1,671 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $2.7 million, or $433 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. Peterson 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.
