Safety index · San Francisco · data through August 2026
Is Chinatown safe?
Chinatown records more reported crime than most San Francisco neighborhoods. Its SafeRoute safety index is 27 out of 100 — 23 points below the citywide median of 50, ranking 34th of 41 SF neighborhoods — based on 1,903 incidents reported to the SFPD 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 San Francisco — a typical San Francisco neighborhood sits near 50. It ranks Chinatown against other neighborhoods here, and cannot be read against a score in another city.
The largest reported category here is violent crime (13% of reports) — worth taking seriously when walking at night; the full mix is broken down below.
Incidents spread across the day here — roughly 25% of severity-weighted reports come in the evening (6 p.m.–midnight) and 21% overnight.
Where incidents cluster
What's reported here
| Violent crime | 239 · 13% | |
| Other theft | 588 · 31% | |
| Criminal damage & arson | 186 · 10% | |
| Burglary | 133 · 7% | |
| Other | 230 · 12% | |
| Theft from a person | 108 · 6% |
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 Hill12/100 · High risk
- North Beach44/100 · Elevated
- Financial District/South Beach24/100 · High risk
- Russian Hill38/100 · Elevated
- Tenderloin7/100 · High risk
Common questions
Is Chinatown safe at night?
Elevated overall (safety index 27/100). About 46% 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?
Violent crime — 239 of 1,903 incidents (13%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 8 months to August 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. The scale is calibrated within San Francisco, so scores compare neighborhoods to each other and cannot be read against another city's.