Safety index · Northwest, Seattle · data through July 2026
Is Bitter Lake safe?
Bitter Lake shows a typical level of reported crime for Seattle. Its SafeRoute safety index is 52 out of 100 — 5 points below the citywide median of 57, ranking 50th of 94 Seattle neighborhoods — based on 408 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 — other theft alone is 22% 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 27% overnight.
Where incidents cluster
What's reported here
| Other theft | 88 · 22% | |
| Violent crime | 32 · 8% | |
| Vehicle crime | 79 · 19% | |
| Burglary | 34 · 8% | |
| Shoplifting | 92 · 23% | |
| Criminal damage & arson | 26 · 6% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.
Walking in Bitter Lake 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
- Haller Lake62/100 · Moderate
- Broadview83/100 · Low risk
- Pinehurst72/100 · Moderate
- Licton Springs40/100 · Elevated
- Greenwood39/100 · Elevated
Common questions
Is Bitter Lake safe at night?
Moderate overall (safety index 52/100). About 57% 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 — 88 of 408 incidents (22%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center through July 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.