Safety index · Ward 2, Washington, D.C. · data through September 2026
Is Chinatown safe?
Chinatown records a high level of reported crime for Washington, D.C.. Its SafeRoute safety index is 30 out of 100 — 28 points below the citywide median of 58, ranking 117th of 132 D.C. neighborhoods — based on 840 incidents reported to the DC Metropolitan Police within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 8 months to September 2026.
DATA THROUGH SEPTEMBER 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 Chinatown 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 74% 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 13% of severity-weighted reports fall overnight (midnight–6 a.m.).
Where incidents cluster
What's reported here
| Other theft | 619 · 74% | |
| Vehicle crime | 131 · 16% | |
| Violent crime | 37 · 4% | |
| Robbery | 41 · 5% | |
| Burglary | 10 · 1% | |
| Sexual offences | 2 · 0% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.
Walking in Chinatown 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
- Penn Quarter33/100 · Elevated
- Mount Vernon Triangle28/100 · Elevated
- Mount Vernon Square25/100 · Elevated
- Downtown East47/100 · Elevated
- Downtown28/100 · Elevated
Common questions
Is Chinatown safe at night?
Elevated overall (safety index 30/100). About 41% of severity-weighted incidents in Chinatown 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 Chinatown?
Other theft — 619 of 840 incidents (74%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 8 months to September 2026.
How is the Chinatown 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.