Crime & Safety in New York City
NYC's real, current crime picture is genuinely mixed by specific measure: the city ranked among the LOWEST of the 50 largest US cities for both murder rate (8th-lowest) and property-crime rate (6th-lowest) in 2025 FBI-reported data, while running roughly in the MIDDLE of the pack specifically for violent crime -- alongside a real, historic, multi-year improvement trend (2025's CompStat-era-record-low shooting and murder figures) this record discloses honestly rather than resolving into a single blunt headline.
Exploring the idea of moving?
We can connect you with a local real estate professional who knows the area -- no pressure, just a starting point.
Learn moreA Real, Genuinely Mixed 2025 Ranking Among Large US Cities
Per 2025 FBI-reported data across the 50 largest US cities, New York ranked 8th-lowest for murder rate and 6th-lowest for property-crime rate -- genuinely strong, real performance on those two specific measures -- while running roughly in the MIDDLE of the pack specifically for overall violent crime rate. This record does not conflate the strong murder/property rankings with a claim that NYC's violent-crime rate specifically is now among the nation's lowest for large cities; the sourcing reviewed this pass does not support that stronger claim.
A Real, Historic, Multi-Year Improvement Trend Through 2025
Alongside that mixed ranking, NYC's recent-year trend is real, historic, and specific: the first eleven months of 2025 recorded the FEWEST shooting incidents (652) and shooting victims (812) of any January-through-November period in the CompStat era (since 1994); May 2025 set new single-month records for both shootings (54) and murders (18); October 2025 recorded just 18 homicides, a nearly 49% year-over-year decline; and November 2025 saw a 5.6% year-over-year drop in overall major crime alongside a 46.7% drop in murder specifically. The NYPD removed more than 2,265 illegal guns from the streets in 2025 alone, and more than 22,027 since the start of 2022.
The 2025 Ranking and the Multi-Year Trend Measure Different Things
This record discloses an important distinction: the 2025 murder/property/violent-crime RANKING above compares NYC's rates against other large cities at a single point in time, while the CompStat-era figures above are real, disclosed trend data tracked month-over-month and year-over-year. Readers should not conflate 'NYC's murder and property-crime rates rank among the lowest of large US cities, with a historic recent-year improvement trend' with a stronger, unsupported claim that NYC is now the single safest large US city on every measure -- the violent-crime-rate ranking specifically does not support that broader claim.
Real, Substantial Variation by Borough and Neighborhood
Given NYC's genuinely enormous size and real, disclosed economic diversity across boroughs (see the jobs-economy topic page's Bronx poverty figures, for instance), crime risk varies substantially by specific borough and neighborhood. Per site policy, no specific neighborhood is characterized as simply 'unsafe' -- research current, address-specific crime data directly for any target area, including via the NYPD's own published CompStat resources.
A Secondary-Aggregator and Press-Release Baseline, Disclosed as a Modest Confidence Caveat
This record sources its 2025 crime figures primarily from press coverage of NYPD's own CompStat releases and secondary aggregators citing underlying FBI/UCR data, rather than independently re-verifying against a primary raw NYPD dataset this pass -- disclosed as a real, modest confidence caveat consistent with how this project has handled comparable secondary-sourced crime data elsewhere (e.g., Philadelphia).
Key takeaways
- NYC's 2025 crime ranking among the 50 largest US cities is genuinely mixed: 8th-lowest for murder rate, 6th-lowest for property-crime rate, but roughly middle-of-the-pack specifically for violent crime.
- Real, historic improvement is equally real and specific: the Jan-Nov 2025 period recorded the fewest shootings of any such period in the CompStat era (since 1994), and October/November 2025 both posted double-digit percentage declines in murder year-over-year.
- The 2025 large-city ranking and the CompStat-era improvement trend measure different things -- do not conflate a strong murder/property ranking and historic recent trend with a claim that NYC is now the single safest large US city on every measure.
- Crime risk varies substantially across NYC's genuinely large, economically diverse boroughs and neighborhoods -- research current, address-specific data directly, including via the NYPD's own CompStat resources.
- This record's 2025 crime figures are drawn from press coverage of NYPD releases and secondary aggregators rather than independently re-verified against a primary raw dataset -- disclosed as a modest confidence caveat.
Want to know what your budget actually buys here?
Tell us a bit about what you're looking for and we'll connect you with someone local who can walk you through real numbers.
Get local guidanceRead the full New York City overview for the complete picture -- housing, taxes, climate, and who this place genuinely fits.
Planning a move?
Tell us what you're looking for and we'll connect you with a local expert who can help you make it happen.
Talk to a local expert