The most dangerous neighborhood in Manhattan by violent crime, among areas where large numbers of people live, is East Harlem or Chinatown, depending on how you draw the lines. Both report just over 8 violent crimes per 1,000 residents in NYPD data through Nov. 1, 2026. Midtown South has a far higher rate at 25.5, but that number is misleading because few people live there.
Manhattan’s average is 4.5. Most of the borough has been getting safer this year, although one key category is rising.
Key takeaways
- Chinatown’s 5th Precinct and East Harlem’s 25th Precinct have the highest rates among residential areas.
- Harlem’s 32nd Precinct, in the northeast of Harlem, has the most shooting incidents in Manhattan, with 12.
- Major crime in Manhattan is down 6.4% this year, and murders fell from 43 to 30.
- Felony assault is the exception, up 6.4%.
- The Upper East Side has Manhattan’s lowest violent crime rate.
The Manhattan precincts with the highest violent crime rates
Violent crime in Manhattan is highest in Midtown South, Chinatown, East Harlem, Midtown North, and northeast Harlem.
| Rank | Area | NYPD precinct | Violent crimes per 1,000 residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Midtown South | 14th | 25.5 |
| 2 | Chinatown, Little Italy, Bowery | 5th | 8.2 |
| 3 | East Harlem (north) | 25th | 8.1 |
| 4 | Midtown North | 18th | 7.9 |
| 5 | Northeast Harlem | 32nd | 7.3 |
Violent crime here means NYPD’s murder, rape, robbery, and felony assault counts from Jan. 1 to Nov. 1, 2026. We divided those counts by each precinct’s 2020 census population. The method is explained below the full table.
Why Midtown isn’t the most dangerous neighborhood in Manhattan
Midtown South’s rate of 25.5 is high partly because of how a per-resident rate works. The precinct has only about 28,000 residents. According to the NYPD, its area also contains commercial offices, hotels, Times Square, Grand Central Terminal, Penn Station, and Madison Square Garden. Crimes against everyone there are counted, but they are divided only by that small resident population.
Its crime mix also points to theft. Grand larceny accounts for 1,393 of its 2,327 major crimes, or about 60%. It has reported 3 murders and 3 shooting incidents this year.
So the realistic risk in Midtown is having your phone or wallet stolen. Midtown North shows the same pattern, with 1,480 grand larcenies and only 2 shooting incidents.
East Harlem and Chinatown: the closest answers
East Harlem has the strongest claim among residential neighborhoods, and it’s the area Google’s AI Overview names first. Its two precincts together have about 7.3 violent crimes per 1,000 residents. The good news is that its major crime is down 14.1% this year.
Chinatown’s 5th Precinct has a slightly higher rate, at 8.2, and it is moving the wrong way. Major crime there is up 8.8%, and robberies rose from 123 to 167. It has reported no murders this year, however, and only 2 shooting incidents. Like every rate in this guide, its rate counts crimes against everyone in the precinct, including visitors, but divides them only by residents.
Where shootings and murders are concentrated
Shootings are concentrated in northern Manhattan. The 32nd Precinct in northeast Harlem leads with 12 incidents, followed by the 34th in Washington Heights and Inwood with 9, and the 25th in East Harlem with 8.
Those three precincts account for 29 of Manhattan’s 72 shooting incidents. Murders are spread more thinly. Four precincts have 4 each: the 18th, 28th, 33rd, and 34th. Eight precincts have reported none.
For a closer look at Harlem, read our guide on whether Harlem is safe to live in.
How Manhattan’s crime is changing in 2026
Manhattan is getting safer overall, but felony assault is going the other way. These totals compare this year with the same period in 2025, using NYPD’s Manhattan North and Manhattan South reports.
| Crime | 2026 so far | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murder | 30 | 43 | -30.2% |
| Robbery | 2,313 | 2,854 | -19.0% |
| Felony assault | 4,854 | 4,561 | +6.4% |
| Burglary | 2,591 | 2,952 | -12.2% |
| Grand larceny | 13,034 | 13,893 | -6.2% |
| All major crime | 24,028 | 25,678 | -6.4% |
| Shooting incidents | 72 | 75 | -4.0% |
Grand larceny makes up 54.2% of Manhattan’s major crime, which helps explain why tourists and commuters so often worry about theft.
All Manhattan precincts ranked
This table ranks 21 precincts by violent crime per 1,000 residents, from highest to lowest. Central Park’s 22nd Precinct is left out because almost nobody lives there.
| Rank | Area | Precinct | Rate per 1,000 | Murders | Robberies | Felony assaults | Shooting incidents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Midtown South | 14th | 25.5 | 3 | 216 | 463 | 3 |
| 2 | Chinatown, Little Italy, Bowery | 5th | 8.2 | 0 | 167 | 236 | 2 |
| 3 | East Harlem (north) | 25th | 8.1 | 1 | 119 | 278 | 8 |
| 4 | Midtown North | 18th | 7.9 | 4 | 170 | 340 | 2 |
| 5 | Northeast Harlem | 32nd | 7.3 | 3 | 138 | 428 | 12 |
| 6 | East Harlem (south) | 23rd | 6.7 | 1 | 135 | 356 | 5 |
| 7 | Central Harlem | 28th | 6.5 | 4 | 83 | 220 | 6 |
| 8 | Washington Heights | 33rd | 5.5 | 4 | 114 | 264 | 3 |
| 9 | Washington Heights, Inwood | 34th | 4.9 | 4 | 182 | 328 | 9 |
| 10 | Lower East Side | 7th | 4.7 | 0 | 75 | 187 | 4 |
| 11 | Hamilton Heights, West Harlem | 30th | 4.4 | 0 | 81 | 177 | 4 |
| 12 | Morningside Heights, Manhattanville | 26th | 4.4 | 0 | 61 | 146 | 2 |
| 13 | Gramercy, Stuyvesant Town | 13th | 3.9 | 1 | 126 | 242 | 1 |
| 14 | Greenwich Village, West Village | 6th | 3.6 | 0 | 67 | 147 | 0 |
| 15 | East Village | 9th | 3.4 | 1 | 71 | 171 | 2 |
| 16 | Tribeca, SoHo, Financial District | 1st | 3.3 | 0 | 117 | 155 | 2 |
| 17 | Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen South | 10th | 3.2 | 1 | 64 | 127 | 1 |
| 18 | Manhattan Valley, Upper West Side | 24th | 2.6 | 1 | 88 | 176 | 4 |
| 19 | Upper West Side | 20th | 1.7 | 0 | 69 | 124 | 1 |
| 20 | Midtown East, Turtle Bay, Murray Hill | 17th | 1.6 | 0 | 39 | 94 | 0 |
| 21 | Upper East Side | 19th | 1.4 | 1 | 111 | 183 | 1 |
How we built this table
The crime counts come from each precinct’s weekly CompStat report for the period ending Nov. 1, 2026, available from the NYPD’s borough and precinct crime statistics page. For example, here is the 14th Precinct report. NYPD marks these figures as preliminary, and the reports are replaced each week.
Precinct populations come from 2020 census counts by precinct, compiled by journalist John Keefe. The rates are our own calculation, not an NYPD ranking.
Keep these limits in mind:
- The rate covers 10 months, not a full year.
- Populations are 2020 census counts, the most recent full count. The city’s population has changed since then.
- It counts residents, not commuters or visitors.
- It only includes crimes reported to police.
- Precinct borders don’t match neighborhood borders exactly, so the area names are a general guide.
How to stay safe in Manhattan
Most Manhattan safety comes down to protecting your property and choosing your route.
In crowded areas
- Keep your phone and wallet zipped away around Times Square and major stations.
- Wear your bag in front of you in crowds.
- Step out of the flow of foot traffic before you check your phone.
At night
- Stay on busy, well-lit avenues.
- Move directly from the station to your destination.
- Avoid the edges of parks after dark.
- Use a rideshare when a walk feels wrong.
Before you move
- Look up your precinct’s trend on CompStat 2.0.
- Visit the block at night and on a weekend.
- Ask neighbors what they’ve noticed.
What Manhattan property and business owners can do
Match your security to the kind of crime around your property. Midtown theft and Harlem assaults call for different plans. A building security risk assessment is a good place to start.
Busy storefronts may benefit from retail security or loss prevention. Office and mixed-use properties may need commercial security or building security. See also our guide to why Midtown businesses need specialized security.
From the field: I have a friend who manages a mid-sized, mixed-use building up in Washington Heights. As he quickly realized, the security risks Uptown can be vastly different from the corporate high-rises in Midtown. For almost six months, he was dealing with a quietly escalating crisis—unauthorized people were bypassing a faulty outer vestibule door, loitering in the lobby, and sleeping in the stairwells late at night. The breaking point hit when one of his long-term tenants was aggressively harassed for cash right outside their apartment door.
When my friend called me, our team immediately stepped in and started with a comprehensive risk assessment of the property. We mapped out the vulnerabilities and deployed a dedicated overnight officer whose patrol routes were strictly verified by GPS tracking. We also had the officer physically monitor the entrance, working seamlessly with the building’s existing fob access control to ensure only actual residents made it past the front desk.
Through it all, my friend never had to guess what was happening on his property. He received every daily patrol log and incident report in real-time through our online portal, and he had a single, dedicated account manager on speed dial for absolute clarity.
The real result was immediate: the late-night loitering stopped entirely within the first week, and the tenant board actually reached out to tell my friend how much safer they felt coming home after dark. What my friend learned from the ordeal is that at night, the entrance is exactly where most problems start—and securing it requires more than just a lock; it requires a proactive human presence to enforce the boundary.
How to Protect Your Peace of Mind and Live Better
A chaotic or vulnerable environment creates constant, low-grade stress that quietly drains your quality of life. Whether you manage a property or simply want your home to feel like a true sanctuary, taking control of your space is essential for daily well-being:
- Audit your entry points today: Don’t ignore broken latches, dim stairwells, or doors that fail to click shut. Peace of mind begins with knowing your primary boundary is secure.
- Never normalize “minor” boundary violations: Addressing small issues early—like casual loitering or broken locks—prevents high-stress emergencies later. Speak up to your building board, management, or neighbors before a small problem becomes a crisis.
- Invest in proactive prevention over reactive fixes: Safety isn’t an afterthought; it is the foundation of relaxation. Implementing reliable oversight, smart access, or professional help saves you from the mental toll of being on constant high alert.
- Protect your sanctuary: You cannot thrive if your living environment feels uncertain. Treating your home’s security as non-negotiable frees up your energy so you can focus on work, health, and family.
Dahlcore officers are unarmed by default, and armed security is provided only on documented request after a risk assessment.
Frequently asked questions
What is the roughest area in Manhattan?
East Harlem and Central and northeast Harlem report the most combined violence among residential areas, with the 32nd Precinct leading Manhattan in shootings. Chinatown’s rate is high as well, though it has few shootings. Risk varies widely by block within all of them.
What part of Manhattan should I stay away from?
No part of Manhattan is off-limits, but take more care at night around quiet blocks and park edges. In the day, Midtown’s biggest risk is theft. Check the precinct for any specific address.
Where is the most violent crime in NYC?
Among residential areas, the South Bronx has the highest rate in the city. Its 40th Precinct, covering Mott Haven and Melrose, reports 15.1 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, against a citywide rate of 4.4. In Manhattan, the highest rates are in Midtown South, Chinatown, East Harlem, and Midtown North. See our guide to the most dangerous part of New York City.
Is Harlem or the Bronx safer?
On average, Central, West, and northeast Harlem are safer than the Bronx. Their three precincts, the 28th, 30th, and 32nd, report 6.2 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, below the Bronx average of 7.8. East Harlem’s 25th Precinct, at 8.1, is slightly above it, so it depends on the area. For the Bronx in detail, see our guide to the most dangerous places in the Bronx.
What is the safest neighborhood in Manhattan?
The Upper East Side has the lowest violent crime rate, at 1.4 per 1,000 residents. Midtown East, at 1.6, and the Upper West Side, at 1.7, are close behind.
Is Times Square dangerous?
Times Square isn’t especially dangerous for most visitors, though it’s a common place for theft. Midtown South’s major crimes are mostly grand larceny, so protect your phone and wallet in crowds.
Get a security plan for your Manhattan property
Manhattan’s riskiest area depends on how you measure it, and the answer can change by block and by year. What matters most is the risk around your own building or business in Manhattan.
Dahlcore Security Guard Services is a licensed NYS security guard agency, veteran-owned, founded in 2018, and led by an owner with 23 years of security experience. Every client gets a customized plan, a named account manager, and access to 24/7 support through our command and dispatch center.
Contact Dahlcore or browse our security services to talk through your property.
