Safety index · Downtown, Seattle · data through November 2026
Is Central Business District, Seattle safe?
Central Business District records a high level of reported crime for Seattle. Its SafeRoute safety index is 8 out of 100 — 45 points below the citywide median of 53, ranking 93rd of 94 Seattle neighborhoods — based on 5,398 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 Central Business District 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 25% of reports — rather than violence against strangers, though the full mix below is worth a look.
Incidents spread across the day here — roughly 26% of severity-weighted reports come in the evening (6 p.m.–midnight) and 25% overnight.
Where incidents cluster
What's reported here
| Vehicle crime | 1,350 · 25% | |
| Other theft | 897 · 17% | |
| Violent crime | 682 · 13% | |
| Burglary | 575 · 11% | |
| Criminal damage & arson | 494 · 9% | |
| Other | 382 · 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 Central Business District 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
- Pike-Market10/100 · High risk
- First Hill9/100 · High risk
- Denny Triangle8/100 · High risk
- Pioneer Square13/100 · High risk
- Yesler Terrace9/100 · High risk
Common questions
Is Central Business District safe at night?
High risk overall (safety index 8/100). About 51% of severity-weighted incidents in Central Business District 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 Central Business District?
Vehicle crime — 1,350 of 5,398 incidents (25%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 10 months to November 2026.
How is the Central Business District 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.