Safety index · Ballard, Seattle · data through July 2026
Is Ballard safe?
Ballard records more reported crime than most Seattle neighborhoods. Its SafeRoute safety index is 32 out of 100 — 25 points below the citywide median of 57, ranking 78th of 94 Seattle neighborhoods — based on 780 incidents reported to the SPD within 1 km of the neighborhood center (data through July 2026).
Most of what's reported here is property-related — burglary alone is 20% of reports — rather than violence against strangers, though the full mix below is worth a look.
Timing matters here: about 31% 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
| Burglary | 154 · 20% | |
| Vehicle crime | 212 · 27% | |
| Criminal damage & arson | 98 · 13% | |
| Other theft | 134 · 17% | |
| Violent crime | 48 · 6% | |
| Robbery | 25 · 3% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.
Walking in Ballard 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 StoreNearby areas
- West Woodland32/100 · Elevated
- Loyal Heights62/100 · Moderate
- Sunset Hill76/100 · Low risk
- Whittier Heights51/100 · Moderate
- Lawton Park80/100 · Low risk
Common questions
Is Ballard safe at night?
Elevated overall (safety index 32/100). About 60% of severity-weighted incidents in Ballard 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 Ballard?
Burglary — 154 of 780 incidents (20%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center through July 2026.
How is the Ballard safety index calculated?
SafeRoute weights each incident reported to the Seattle 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.