Safety index · Ballard, Seattle · data through August 2026
Is Sunset Hill safe?
Sunset Hill sits at the safer end of Seattle by reported crime. Its SafeRoute safety index is 75 out of 100 — 21 points above the citywide median of 54, ranking 18th of 94 Seattle neighborhoods — based on 138 incidents reported to the SPD within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 8 months to August 2026.
DATA THROUGH AUGUST 2026 · 8 MONTHS OF DATA
The 0–100 scale is calibrated to Seattle — a typical Seattle neighborhood sits near 54. It ranks Sunset Hill 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 36% of reports — rather than violence against strangers, though the full mix below is worth a look.
Timing matters here: about 36% 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
| Vehicle crime | 49 · 36% | |
| Other theft | 34 · 25% | |
| Burglary | 19 · 14% | |
| Criminal damage & arson | 16 · 12% | |
| Violent crime | 8 · 6% | |
| Public order | 5 · 4% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.
Walking in Sunset Hill 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
- Loyal Heights60/100 · Moderate
- Ballard30/100 · Elevated
- Whittier Heights49/100 · Elevated
- North Beach/Blue Ridge80/100 · Low risk
- Lawton Park79/100 · Low risk
Common questions
Is Sunset Hill safe at night?
Low risk overall (safety index 75/100). About 76% of severity-weighted incidents in Sunset Hill are reported between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Reported crime is low for Seattle, but stick to lit, busier streets late.
What is the most common crime in Sunset Hill?
Vehicle crime — 49 of 138 incidents (36%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 8 months to August 2026.
How is the Sunset Hill 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.