Safety index · San Francisco · data through August 2026
Is Japantown safe?
Japantown records more reported crime than most San Francisco neighborhoods. Its SafeRoute safety index is 32 out of 100 — 18 points below the citywide median of 50, ranking 33rd of 41 SF neighborhoods — based on 1,512 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 Japantown against other neighborhoods here, and cannot be read against a score in another city.
Most of what's reported here is property-related — other theft alone is 40% of reports — rather than violence against strangers, though the full mix below is worth a look.
Incidents spread across the day here — roughly 27% of severity-weighted reports come in the evening (6 p.m.–midnight) and 20% overnight.
Where incidents cluster
What's reported here
| Other theft | 608 · 40% | |
| Violent crime | 148 · 10% | |
| Burglary | 129 · 9% | |
| Criminal damage & arson | 125 · 8% | |
| Vehicle crime | 137 · 9% | |
| Other | 139 · 9% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.
Walking in Japantown 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
- Western Addition26/100 · Elevated
- Pacific Heights35/100 · Elevated
- Hayes Valley22/100 · High risk
- Presidio Heights59/100 · Moderate
- Lone Mountain/USF47/100 · Elevated
Common questions
Is Japantown safe at night?
Elevated overall (safety index 32/100). About 47% of severity-weighted incidents in Japantown 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 Japantown?
Other theft — 608 of 1,512 incidents (40%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 8 months to August 2026.
How is the Japantown 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.