SAFEROUTE

Safety index · Northwest, Seattle · data through November 2026

Is Bitter Lake safe?

Bitter Lake shows a typical level of reported crime for Seattle. Its SafeRoute safety index is 49 out of 100 — 4 points below the citywide median of 53, ranking 52nd of 94 Seattle neighborhoods — based on 582 incidents reported to the SPD within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 10 months to November 2026.

49/100
Elevated
SafeRoute safety index for the area within 1 km of the center of Bitter Lake — higher is safer. 52nd of 94 Seattle neighborhoods.

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 Bitter Lake 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 21% of reports — rather than violence against strangers, though the full mix below is worth a look.

Incidents spread across the day here — roughly 28% of severity-weighted reports come in the evening (6 p.m.–midnight) and 27% overnight.

Where incidents cluster

Aurora Avenue North3rd Avenue Northwest neighborhood center 500 m N ↑
1 dot = 1 report · darker = more severe · rings every 250 m from the neighborhood center582 incidents reported within 1 km of the Bitter Lake center (500 shown) · SPD data through November 2026, latest report in this area October 2026 · basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors. Reports cluster toward the north-east of the map — the area immediately around the neighborhood center is comparatively quiet.
Open Bitter Lake on the live interactive map →

What's reported here

Other theft
120 · 21%
Shoplifting
118 · 20%
Vehicle crime
112 · 19%
Burglary
51 · 9%
Violent crime
50 · 9%
Other
36 · 6%

When it happens

6a–6p6p–12a12a–6aMON–FRI6a–6p6p–12a12a–6aSAT–SUN

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 Bitter Lake 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.

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Nearby areas

Common questions

Is Bitter Lake safe at night?

Elevated overall (safety index 49/100). About 55% of severity-weighted incidents in Bitter Lake 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 Bitter Lake?

Other theft — 120 of 582 incidents (21%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 10 months to November 2026.

How is the Bitter Lake 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.