Safety index · Manhattan, New York · data through June 2026
Is Upper West Side-Lincoln Square safe?
Upper West Side-Lincoln Square records more reported crime than most New York neighborhoods. Its SafeRoute safety index is 38 out of 100 — 15 points below the citywide median of 53, ranking 145th of 197 NYC neighborhoods — based on 2,648 incidents reported to the NYPD within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 6 months to June 2026.
DATA THROUGH JUNE 2026 · 6 MONTHS OF DATA
The 0–100 scale is calibrated to New York — a typical New York neighborhood sits near 53. It ranks Upper West Side-Lincoln Square 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 54% 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 | 1,437 · 54% | |
| Public order | 527 · 20% | |
| Violent crime | 262 · 10% | |
| Criminal damage & arson | 94 · 4% | |
| Robbery | 49 · 2% | |
| Burglary | 60 · 2% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from NYPD incident timestamps.
Is New York safe at night? See which neighborhoods see the most reported crime after dark →
Walking in Upper West Side-Lincoln Square 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
- Hell's Kitchen22/100 · High risk
- Upper West Side (Central)43/100 · Elevated
- Midtown-Times Square17/100 · High risk
- Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill47/100 · Elevated
- East Midtown-Turtle Bay38/100 · Elevated
Common questions
Is Upper West Side-Lincoln Square safe at night?
Elevated overall (safety index 38/100). About 42% of severity-weighted incidents in Upper West Side-Lincoln Square 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 Upper West Side-Lincoln Square?
Other theft — 1,437 of 2,648 incidents (54%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 6 months to June 2026.
How is the Upper West Side-Lincoln Square safety index calculated?
SafeRoute weights each incident reported to the NYPD 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 New York, so scores compare neighborhoods to each other and cannot be read against another city's.