Safety index · Ward 3, Washington, D.C. · data through August 2026
Is Cathedral Heights safe?
Cathedral Heights sits at the safer end of Washington, D.C. by reported crime. Its SafeRoute safety index is 72 out of 100 — 14 points above the citywide median of 58, ranking 26th of 132 D.C. neighborhoods — based on 142 incidents reported to the DC Metropolitan Police within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 8 months to August 2026.
DATA THROUGH AUGUST 2026 · 8 MONTHS OF DATA
The 0–100 scale is calibrated to Washington, D.C. — a typical Washington, D.C. neighborhood sits near 58. It ranks Cathedral Heights against other neighborhoods here, and cannot be read against a score in another city.
Most of what's reported here is property-related — other theft alone is 65% of reports — rather than violence against strangers, though the full mix below is worth a look.
Reported incidents here skew to daytime and evening hours — only about 7% of severity-weighted reports fall overnight (midnight–6 a.m.).
Where incidents cluster
What's reported here
| Other theft | 92 · 65% | |
| Vehicle crime | 39 · 27% | |
| Burglary | 6 · 4% | |
| Violent crime | 4 · 3% | |
| Robbery | 1 · 1% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.
Walking in Cathedral Heights at night?
SafeRoute scores every walking route against the same live crime data on this page — and shows how much of each route runs on lit streets. Pick the safer way, share your walk, and check in when you arrive. Free, no account.
Get SafeRoute on the App StoreNearby areas
- McLean Gardens72/100 · Moderate
- Wesley Heights87/100 · Low risk
- Mass. Ave. Heights74/100 · Moderate
- Cleveland Park66/100 · Moderate
- Tenleytown67/100 · Moderate
Common questions
Is Cathedral Heights safe at night?
Moderate overall (safety index 72/100). About 30% of severity-weighted incidents in Cathedral Heights are reported between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. At night, prefer lit, busier streets — a block or two of detour often avoids the clusters on the map above.
What is the most common crime in Cathedral Heights?
Other theft — 92 of 142 incidents (65%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 8 months to August 2026.
How is the Cathedral Heights safety index calculated?
SafeRoute weights each incident reported to the DC Metropolitan Police by severity (violence weighs more than shoplifting), sums the last available period within 1 km of the neighborhood center, and normalizes against citywide crime rates onto a 0–100 scale — higher is safer. It describes reported crime only; it is not a guarantee of safety. The scale is calibrated within Washington, D.C., so scores compare neighborhoods to each other and cannot be read against another city's.