Clearwater, FL Crime Map

Clearwater, FL Safety Overview: What the Data Actually Shows

With a population of 115,975 and an overall crime grade of B-, Clearwater ranks as a genuinely safe city by most measures — and the neighborhood-level data makes that case even more convincingly. Across 122 analyzed neighborhoods, 91.8% earned an A grade, while the remaining 8.2% landed at a B. Not a single neighborhood scored a C, D, or F. That kind of distribution is uncommon among Florida cities of comparable size, and it tells a story that raw crime counts alone rarely capture.

Where Clearwater Excels: The Safest Neighborhoods

The city's safest pockets are concentrated in residential enclaves with strong household incomes and low population density. Countrypark (A+, median income $131,091), Crest (A+, $131,386), and Shady Oak Farms (A+, $131,361) represent the upper tier — small communities where the combination of economic stability and tight-knit demographics keeps crime rates exceptionally low. Lake Chautauqua earns the same A+ designation with a notably larger population of 1,337 and a median income of $124,596, demonstrating that safety at scale is achievable. Even neighborhoods with more moderate incomes, like Montclair Lake Estates (A+, $64,180) and Valencia Park (A+, $64,175), hold top safety grades — suggesting that income alone doesn't dictate outcomes across Clearwater's residential areas.

Higher-Activity Areas: Context Matters

The neighborhoods that carry the city's comparatively higher crime designations are still graded B or B- — the lowest grades found anywhere in Clearwater. Downtown Clearwater and Wyatt Street both hold B- grades, reflecting the elevated activity typical of commercial and transit-heavy corridors. Clearwater North East, Gateway, and Prospect Towers each earned a B. None of these areas approach the risk levels seen in genuinely high-crime urban zones; the grades simply signal that residents and visitors should maintain the same awareness they would in any active city district, particularly after dark.

Property Crime vs. Violent Crime Patterns

In cities with Clearwater's demographic and economic profile — a 15.3% poverty rate, 6.4% unemployment, and a median household income of $50,335 — property crime tends to account for the majority of reported incidents. Opportunistic offenses like vehicle break-ins and theft from unlocked properties are more common in higher-density corridors, particularly around Downtown Clearwater and the Gateway area. Violent crime, by contrast, remains concentrated in a narrower set of locations and circumstances, and the city's overall B- grade reflects a property crime burden more than a widespread violent crime problem. Understanding this distinction helps residents calibrate their actual risk rather than react to headline statistics.

How the Crime Map Supports Real Decisions

Clearwater's interactive crime map is most useful when it informs decisions with real stakes. Home buyers weighing a property near Keene Acres (A+, median income $103,262) versus a unit closer to Prospect Towers can use grade-level data to contextualize list prices against long-term livability. Renters — facing a median rent of $1,167 in a city where median home values sit at $223,714 — benefit from neighborhood-level grading when comparing lease options across zip codes. Commuters who pass through the Gateway or Wyatt Street corridors regularly can use incident-pattern data to time their routes or adjust parking habits. The map doesn't replace judgment, but it replaces guesswork with something more reliable: a consistent, data-driven picture of where Clearwater stands block by block.

The Bottom Line

Clearwater's safety profile is one of the stronger ones among Florida's mid-size cities. A 100% combined A-and-B grade distribution across all 122 analyzed neighborhoods means that no part of the city falls into genuinely dangerous territory. The overall B- city grade reflects real variation — particularly around downtown and commercial corridors — but it sits atop a foundation of overwhelmingly safe residential neighborhoods. For residents, renters, and buyers, that foundation is worth understanding in detail rather than taking for granted.