The Bronx’s history is rich and deep. It is the birthplace of hip-hop. It is home to The Yankees and it is probably the most misunderstood borough in New York. The Bronx has been burdened with the reputation of being gritty, tough and crime-ridden. But how outdated is that reputation? Is the Bronx still burning?
Lets deep dive into the statistics and talk to the residents of the city to give you a better understanding of how safe the city really is.
Looking only at the crime statistics, the Bronx is a moderately safe place to visit as long as you avoid the south and lower central areas.
In 2020, the Bronx had a violent crime rate of 663.15 incidents per 100,000 residents. Out of the 100 most populous cities in the United States, the Bronx’s violent crime rate is the 46th highest in the nation. Long Beach, Reno, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Las Vegas all have similar violent crime rates as the Bronx.
The Bronx’s Crime Rate Map
The Bronx is patrolled by the 40th – 52nd Precincts of the New York City Police Department.
Here’s a map showing you the crime rate for the different precincts of the Bronx.
Precinct
Area
Population
Crime Rate Per 1000 residents
40th Precinct
Port Morris, Mott Haven, and Melrose
91,497
26.1648
41st Precinct
Hunts Point and Longwood
52,246
20.1355
42nd Precinct
Claremont, Crotona Park East, and Crotona Park
79,762
21.5767
43rdPrecinct
Westchester Avenue, Castle Hill Avenue, White Plains Road, and Parkchester.
172,131
13.1992
44th Precinct
Grand Concourse, Bronx Terminal Market, and Yankee Stadium.
146,441
15.8289
45th Precinct
Co-op City and City Island
120,825
8.7068
46th Precinct
Fordham, University Heights, Morris Heights and Mount Hope
128,200
16.0998
47th Precinct
Woodlawn, Wakefield, Williamsbridge, Baychester, Edenwald, Olinville, Fishbay, and Woodlawn Cemetary
152,373
13.2176
48th Precinct
Belmont, East Tremont, and West Farms
83,266
19.3837
49th Precinct
Allerton, Morris Park, Van Nest, Pelham Parkway, Eastchester Gardens, and Pelham Gardens.
114,712
10.5656
50th Precinct
Riverdale, Fieldston, Kingsbridge, Marble Hill, and Spuyten Duyvil
101,720
10.0669
52nd Precinct
Bedford Park, Fordham, Kingsbridge, Norwood, Bronx Park, and University Heights
139,307
13.6677
Looking at the table above, the 40th, 41st, 42nd and 48th precincts all have the highest rates of crime.
The Most Dangerous Neighborhoods In The Bronx:
Port Morris
Mott Haven
Melrose
Hunts Point
Longwood
Claremont
Crotona Park East
Crotona Park
Belmont
East Tremont
West Farms
The Safest Neighborhoods In The Bronx:
Riverdale
Fieldston
Kingsbridge
Marble Hill
Spuyten Duyvil
Co-op City
City Island
Allerton
Morris Park
Van Nest
Pelham Parkway
Eastchester Gardens
Pelham Gardens
The Bronx’s Population
The population for the The Bronx in 2020 is 1,472,654 residents.
The Bronx Crime Stats
Here’s a breakdown of all the crimes in The Bronx for 2020 compared with 1990 and 2001:
Looking at the chart, you can see that crime in the Bronx has significantly decreased over the years.
In 2020 the Bronx reported 9,766 violent crimes and had a violent crime rate of 663.15 per 100,000 people.
The national average for violent crime is 366.7 per 100,000 residents and the national average for property crime is 2,109.9 per 100,000 residents. Bronx’s violent crime rate is 2.18 times more than the national average.
**Violent crimes include; homicides, rape, robbery and aggravated assaults and the violent crime rate is calculated by dividing the number of reported crimes by the total population; the result is multiplied by 100,000.
The Bronx Murder Stats
In 2020 the Bronx reported 111 homicides, which gives it a murder rate of 8 per 100,000 residents. The national murder rate is 5 per 100,000 people. The Bronx’s murder rate is about 1.6 times more than the national average.
The Bronx vs The Other Boroughs
Looking at the table you can see that the Bronx had the highest violent crime rate of all the boroughs.
The Bronx vs The Most Dangerous Cities In The United States
Here’s a list of the top 10 most dangerous cities in the United States ranked by violent crime rate. It can give you some perspective on the Bronx’s violent crime rate, which is 667.35 per 100,000 people.
The Bronx’s violent crime rate is 3.6 times LESS than Memphis, the most dangerous city on the list.
What do residents of The Bronx say about its safety
"The area around Yankee Stadium is in fact terrible."
"Parts of the Bronx aren’t great. Most of the Bronx is fine."
"The Bronx is huge! There’s parts of the Bronx that is very safe and other that are not so much."
"Your safety really depends on where you go in the Bronx. The south and lower central Bronx are not great areas, avoid! The Kingsbridge and Riverdale area you can practically visit at all hours."
"The south Bronx is a dump! There’s a lot of crime, noise pollution, dog poop and it is dirty and depressing."
"Despite what you might have erroneously heard, the Bronx isn’t just one giant ghetto. The Bronx is huge. Certain parts are good and certain parts are bad, but it’s not all bad."
"Most of the Bronx is fine. Its bad reputation comes from the urban blight that went down in a few areas throughout the 70s-90s, but it’s redeveloping quickly."
"Some parts of the Bronx are dangerous and some are very safe, just like any other city. "
"I don’t recommend anywhere in the Bronx for tourist. For every nice block, there’s 10 surrounding it that you want to avoid. Also these predators can spot a tourist a mile away "
Is Bronx safe at night?
The Bronx can be safe to visit at night if you stick to the safer areas and avoid south and lower central Bronx. If you are unfamiliar with the area, we do not recommend you wander around at night, because one wrong turn could land you in an entirely different environment.
Is it safe to visit alone?
The Bronx can a safe place to visit alone. However you should take special precautions at night as you will be more vulnerable to becoming a victim of crime.
Tips To Stay Safe In The Bronx
Don’t be out alone and late at night looking like a tourist in general.
Don’t walk alone drunk after dark.
Walk confidently and with a purpose and you should be good. Look timid or unsure and you make yourself a target.
If you’re out alone and it’s late at night, Grab an Uber, Lyft or cab instead of the subway. Late at night, there will be less people on the platform and you will be waiting longer.
Do not engage with strangers on the street. Just keep walking and say nothing if someone approaches you.
Never let your drink out of your sight at bars.
Don’t wear headphones/listen to music or stare at your phone while walking. You should always have situational awareness at all times.
If someone is making you feel uncomfortable, step into a shop, drug store, bodega etc. People will tend to leave you alone if you’re inside a shop.
Buy and carry pepper spray in your pocket.
Don’t be polite if someone is making you feel uncomfortable. Cross the street, go to the other side of the train platform or get in another subway car.
Project confidence, stand up straight, walk decisively, keep your eyes up and constantly scanning.
Trust your intuition, if something feels off, it probably is. Get away from the situation.
Plan your routes in advance so you don’t get lost and end up in a sketchy part of town.
While waiting for the train, don’t get too close to the edge of the platform. Stay in the middle. There have been instances of people being pushed on to the tracks.
Final Thoughts
After analyzing the crime statistics and talking to the residents of the city, we have come to the conclusion that the Bronx is a moderately safe place to visit. It’s crime stats are not alarming and many residents agree that Bronx is a fairly safe place to visit.
The only problem areas are the south Bronx and the central Bronx. You should be able to mitigate your chances of being a crime while visiting The Bronx, if you follow the safety tips above and avoid going into those area.
Mariska is a recovering attorney who gave up her professional job to discover new perspectives of life while traveling in a 2009 Ford Transit.
She has been living the van life for 3 years and has not looked back since.
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