Safety index · Capitol Hill, Seattle · data through July 2026
Is Portage Bay safe?
Portage Bay shows a typical level of reported crime for Seattle. Its SafeRoute safety index is 57 out of 100 — right at the citywide median of 57, ranking 47th of 94 Seattle neighborhoods — based on 297 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 24% 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 | 70 · 24% | |
| Vehicle crime | 117 · 39% | |
| Other theft | 57 · 19% | |
| Violent crime | 17 · 6% | |
| Criminal damage & arson | 21 · 7% | |
| Other | 11 · 4% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.
Walking in Portage Bay 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
- Eastlake53/100 · Moderate
- Montlake77/100 · Low risk
- University of Washington45/100 · Elevated
- University District23/100 · High risk
- Wallingford44/100 · Elevated
Common questions
Is Portage Bay safe at night?
Moderate overall (safety index 57/100). About 60% of severity-weighted incidents in Portage Bay 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 Portage Bay?
Burglary — 70 of 297 incidents (24%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center through July 2026.
How is the Portage Bay 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.