Safety index · San Francisco · data through July 2026
Is Chinatown safe?
Chinatown records more reported crime than most San Francisco neighborhoods. Its SafeRoute safety index is 31 out of 100 — 26 points below the citywide median of 57, ranking 34th of 41 SF neighborhoods — based on 1,548 incidents reported to the SFPD within 1 km of the neighborhood center (data through July 2026).
Most of what's reported here is property-related — other theft alone is 32% 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 21% overnight.
Where incidents cluster
What's reported here
| Other theft | 489 · 32% | |
| Violent crime | 191 · 12% | |
| Criminal damage & arson | 153 · 10% | |
| Burglary | 111 · 7% | |
| Theft from a person | 96 · 6% | |
| Other | 181 · 12% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.
Walking in Chinatown 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
- Nob Hill14/100 · High risk
- North Beach49/100 · Elevated
- Financial District/South Beach29/100 · Elevated
- Russian Hill43/100 · Elevated
- Tenderloin9/100 · High risk
Common questions
Is Chinatown safe at night?
Elevated overall (safety index 31/100). About 47% of severity-weighted incidents in Chinatown 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 Chinatown?
Other theft — 489 of 1,548 incidents (32%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center through July 2026.
How is the Chinatown safety index calculated?
SafeRoute weights each incident reported to the SFPD 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.