Safety index · Central, Minneapolis · data through September 2026
Is Downtown West safe?
Downtown West records a high level of reported crime for Minneapolis. Its SafeRoute safety index is 25 out of 100 — 36 points below the citywide median of 61, ranking 86th of 87 Minneapolis neighborhoods — based on 1,382 incidents reported to the MPD 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 Minneapolis — a typical Minneapolis neighborhood sits near 61. It ranks Downtown West against other neighborhoods here, and cannot be read against a score in another city.
Most of what's reported here is property-related — vehicle crime alone is 33% of reports — rather than violence against strangers, though the full mix below is worth a look.
Incidents spread across the day here — roughly 25% of severity-weighted reports come in the evening (6 p.m.–midnight) and 17% overnight.
Where incidents cluster
What's reported here
| Vehicle crime | 460 · 33% | |
| Other theft | 394 · 29% | |
| Violent crime | 138 · 10% | |
| Robbery | 57 · 4% | |
| Burglary | 60 · 4% | |
| Sexual offences | 39 · 3% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.
Walking in Downtown West 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.
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Common questions
Is Downtown West safe at night?
Elevated overall (safety index 25/100). About 42% of severity-weighted incidents in Downtown West 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 Downtown West?
Vehicle crime — 460 of 1,382 incidents (33%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 8 months to September 2026.
How is the Downtown West safety index calculated?
SafeRoute weights each incident reported to the Minneapolis 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 Minneapolis, so scores compare neighborhoods to each other and cannot be read against another city's.