Safety index · Ballard, Seattle · data through November 2026
Is Ballard safe?
Ballard records more reported crime than most Seattle neighborhoods. Its SafeRoute safety index is 32 out of 100 — 21 points below the citywide median of 53, ranking 78th of 94 Seattle neighborhoods — based on 1,086 incidents reported to the SPD within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 10 months to November 2026.
DATA THROUGH NOVEMBER 2026 · 10 MONTHS OF DATA
The 0–100 scale is calibrated to Seattle — a typical Seattle neighborhood sits near 53. It ranks Ballard 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 27% of reports — rather than violence against strangers, though the full mix below is worth a look.
Incidents spread across the day here — roughly 30% of severity-weighted reports come in the evening (6 p.m.–midnight) and 29% overnight.
Where incidents cluster
What's reported here
| Vehicle crime | 292 · 27% | |
| Other theft | 198 · 18% | |
| Burglary | 193 · 18% | |
| Criminal damage & arson | 131 · 12% | |
| Shoplifting | 87 · 8% | |
| Violent crime | 76 · 7% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.
Is Seattle safe at night? See which neighborhoods see the most reported crime after dark →
Walking in Ballard 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
- West Woodland31/100 · Elevated
- Loyal Heights61/100 · Moderate
- Sunset Hill76/100 · Low risk
- Whittier Heights50/100 · Moderate
- Lawton Park80/100 · Low risk
Common questions
Is Ballard safe at night?
Elevated overall (safety index 32/100). About 59% 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?
Vehicle crime — 292 of 1,086 incidents (27%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 10 months to November 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. The scale is calibrated within Seattle, so scores compare neighborhoods to each other and cannot be read against another city's.