Rochester, NY Crime Map

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions: Rochester, NY Crime & Safety (2026)

How safe is Rochester, NY overall?

Rochester earns an overall crime grade of D+ at the city level, but that number tells only part of the story. When you zoom into the neighborhood level, the picture shifts considerably: across the 79 neighborhoods analyzed, 84% are rated safe — meaning they carry a grade of A or B. Specifically, 62% of neighborhoods (49 out of 79) received an A grade, and another 21.5% (17 neighborhoods) received a B. Only 7.6% of neighborhoods (6 areas) landed in the D range, and no neighborhood received an F. The city-wide safety rating based on neighborhood-level data is B (Safe). The gap between the city-level D+ and the neighborhood-level B reflects how crime is concentrated in a small number of areas rather than spread evenly across Rochester.

What is the crime rate in Rochester, NY in 2026?

Rather than a single raw number, Rochester's crime picture is best understood through its grade distribution. Of the 79 neighborhoods studied, 62% earned an A and 21.5% earned a B — meaning roughly 5 out of every 6 Rochester neighborhoods fall into the safe category. At the other end, neighborhoods like Upper Falls (D-), Mayor's Heights / C.O.T.S. (D), Plymouth Exchange (D), and Brown Square (D) account for the elevated city-wide crime grade. The city's 30.4% poverty rate and 8.9% unemployment rate are economic factors that researchers consistently link to higher crime concentrations, and those pressures are visible in the D-graded corridors. For residents and renters, the takeaway is that neighborhood selection matters enormously in Rochester.

What are the safest neighborhoods in Rochester, NY?

Ten neighborhoods earned the top grade of A+ in 2026, making them Rochester's safest communities by a significant margin. Here's how they break down:

• Oakgrove — A+ | Median income: $110,175 | Population: ~1,208
• Dake's Corners — A+ | Median income: $105,168 | Population: ~840
• Maywood — A+ | Median income: $107,919 | Population: ~945
• Eagle Heights — A+ | Median income: $107,870 | Population: ~1,692
• Winona Woods — A+ | Median income: $96,111 | Population: ~1,397
• Briarwood Triangle — A+ | Median income: $81,310 | Population: ~1,678
• Lakeside — A+ | Median income: $78,017 | Population: ~1,353
• Lakebreeze — A+ | Median income: $73,563 | Population: ~1,250
• Point Pleasant — A+ | Median income: $74,267 | Population: ~419
• Thurlow — A+ | Median income: $60,744 | Population: ~242

A pattern worth noting: the four highest-income A+ neighborhoods — Oakgrove, Dake's Corners, Maywood, and Eagle Heights — all report median household incomes above $105,000, more than 2.8× the city median of $37,395. Even the lower-income A+ neighborhoods like Thurlow and Point Pleasant outperform the city average, suggesting that income alone doesn't fully explain safety outcomes at the neighborhood level.

Which neighborhoods in Rochester have higher crime rates?

Six neighborhoods received D or D- grades in 2026, representing 7.6% of all analyzed areas. The highest-concern areas are Upper Falls (D-) and Mayor's Heights / C.O.T.S. (D), followed by Plymouth Exchange (D), Brown Square (D), and Susan B. Anthony (D+). These neighborhoods are geographically concentrated and account for a disproportionate share of the incidents that pull Rochester's city-wide grade down to D+. Importantly, no Rochester neighborhood received an F grade — a distinction that separates Rochester from some peer cities of similar size and poverty rate. If you live in or frequently travel through these corridors, checking the interactive crime map for incident type and time-of-day patterns can help you make more informed decisions.

Is Rochester, NY a good place to live in 2026?

Rochester presents a genuine trade-off that prospective residents should weigh carefully. On the affordability side, the numbers are compelling: a median home value of just $88,218 and a median rent of $875/month make Rochester one of the most affordable mid-size cities in the Northeast. On the economic challenge side, a 30.4% poverty rate and 8.9% unemployment rate are well above national averages and correlate with the crime concentrations seen in the D-graded neighborhoods. The good news is that 84% of Rochester's 79 analyzed neighborhoods are rated A or B for safety, meaning a large majority of the city offers a genuinely livable environment. Neighborhoods like Oakgrove, Eagle Heights, Briarwood Triangle, and Winona Woods combine A+ safety grades with established community character. The key for anyone considering a move is to use neighborhood-level data — not city-level averages — to guide the decision.

How does Rochester's neighborhood safety distribution compare to what the city-wide grade suggests?

This is one of the most important statistical nuances in Rochester's 2026 crime data. The city-wide crime grade of D+ might suggest widespread danger, but the neighborhood breakdown tells a very different story: 62% of neighborhoods grade A, 21.5% grade B, 8.9% grade C, and only 7.6% grade D — with zero F grades. That means the D+ city average is being pulled down by a small cluster of higher-crime neighborhoods rather than reflecting conditions across most of Rochester. Think of it like a class average dragged down by a few outliers: the combined A+B safe rate of 84% is the more representative figure for the typical Rochester resident's day-to-day experience. Using the crime map to filter by specific neighborhood gives you a far more accurate risk picture than the headline city grade alone.