Safety index · Greater Downtown, Kansas City · data through October 2026
Is West Bottoms safe?
West Bottoms sits at the safer end of Kansas City by reported crime. Its SafeRoute safety index is 89 out of 100 — 34 points above the citywide median of 55, ranking 14th of 243 Kansas City neighborhoods — based on 28 incidents reported to the KCPD within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 9 months to October 2026. Much of this area is industrial, river-bottom or undeveloped land rather than housing, so a low count reflects how few people are here rather than how safe the streets are.
DATA THROUGH OCTOBER 2026 · 9 MONTHS OF DATA
The 0–100 scale is calibrated to Kansas City — a typical Kansas City neighborhood sits near 55. It ranks West Bottoms against other neighborhoods here, and cannot be read against a score in another city.
The largest reported category here is violent crime (29% of reports) — worth taking seriously when walking at night; the full mix is broken down below.
Timing matters here: about 40% of severity-weighted incidents are reported overnight (midnight–6 a.m.), so route choice late at night matters more than the headline number suggests.
Where incidents cluster
What's reported here
| Violent crime | 8 · 29% | |
| Public order | 5 · 18% | |
| Drugs | 5 · 18% | |
| Vehicle crime | 4 · 14% | |
| Other theft | 2 · 7% | |
| Other | 2 · 7% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.
Is Kansas City safe at night? See which neighborhoods see the most reported crime after dark →
Walking in West Bottoms 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.
Get SafeRoute on the App StoreNearby areas
- Harlem62/100 · Moderate
- River Market21/100 · High risk
- Quality Hill13/100 · High risk
- Columbus Park Industrial43/100 · Elevated
- CBD Downtown9/100 · High risk
Common questions
Is West Bottoms safe at night?
Low risk overall (safety index 89/100). About 59% of severity-weighted incidents in West Bottoms are reported between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Reported crime is low for Kansas City, but stick to lit, busier streets late.
What is the most common crime in West Bottoms?
Violent crime — 8 of 28 incidents (29%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 9 months to October 2026.
How is the West Bottoms safety index calculated?
SafeRoute weights each incident reported to the Kansas City Police Department 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 Kansas City, so scores compare neighborhoods to each other and cannot be read against another city's.