Safety index · Greater Downtown, Kansas City · data through August 2026
Is West Bottoms safe?
West Bottoms sits at the safer end of Kansas City by reported crime. Its SafeRoute safety index is 86 out of 100 — 31 points above the citywide median of 55, ranking 22nd of 243 Kansas City neighborhoods — based on 27 incidents reported to the KCPD within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 8 months to August 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 AUGUST 2026 · 8 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 (30% of reports) — worth taking seriously when walking at night; the full mix is broken down below.
Timing matters here: about 39% 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 · 30% | |
| Public order | 5 · 19% | |
| Drugs | 4 · 15% | |
| Vehicle crime | 4 · 15% | |
| Other theft | 2 · 7% | |
| Criminal damage & arson | 1 · 4% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.
Walking in West Bottoms 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 StoreCommon questions
Is West Bottoms safe at night?
Low risk overall (safety index 86/100). About 58% 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 27 incidents (30%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 8 months to August 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.