SAFEROUTE

Safety index · Ward 4, Washington, D.C. · data through November 2026

Is Petworth safe?

Petworth records more reported crime than most Washington, D.C. neighborhoods. Its SafeRoute safety index is 39 out of 100 — 17 points below the citywide median of 56, ranking 108th of 132 D.C. neighborhoods — based on 651 incidents reported to the DC Metropolitan Police within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 9 months to November 2026.

39/100
Elevated
SafeRoute safety index for the area within 1 km of the center of Petworth — higher is safer. 108th of 132 D.C. neighborhoods.

DATA THROUGH NOVEMBER 2026 · 9 MONTHS OF DATA

The 0–100 scale is calibrated to Washington, D.C. — a typical Washington, D.C. neighborhood sits near 56. It ranks Petworth 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 52% 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 15% of severity-weighted reports fall overnight (midnight–6 a.m.).

Where incidents cluster

16th Street NorthwestNew Hampshire Avenue Northwest neighborhood center 500 m N ↑
1 dot = 1 report · darker = more severe · rings every 250 m from the neighborhood center651 incidents reported within 1 km of the Petworth center (500 shown) · DC Police data through November 2026 · basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors. Reports cluster toward the south-west of the map — the area immediately around the neighborhood center is comparatively quiet.
Open Petworth on the live interactive map →

What's reported here

Other theft
337 · 52%
Vehicle crime
194 · 30%
Robbery
52 · 8%
Violent crime
37 · 6%
Burglary
29 · 4%
Sexual offences
2 · 0%

When it happens

6a–6p6p–12a12a–6aMON–FRI6a–6p6p–12a12a–6aSAT–SUN

Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.

Is Washington, D.C. safe at night? See which neighborhoods see the most reported crime after dark →

Walking in Petworth at night?

SafeRoute scores every walking route against the same official crime data on this page — and shows how much of each route runs on lit streets. Compare the routes and share your walk. Free, no account.

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Nearby areas

Common questions

Is Petworth safe at night?

Elevated overall (safety index 39/100). About 46% of severity-weighted incidents in Petworth 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 Petworth?

Other theft — 337 of 651 incidents (52%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 9 months to November 2026.

How is the Petworth 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.