2018 Report

How Perception of Safety Varies by Location and Time of Day

Nearly all residents feel at least somewhat safe at home, with 91 percent feeling very safe during the day and 83 percent feeling very safe at night. More people feel very or somewhat safe in downtown during the day (92 percent) than walking alone in their own neighborhoods at night (81 percent). The latter figure is a statistically significant improvement, though, from the 77 percent who felt safe walking alone at night last year. This figure falls to around 70 percent for young adults, students, those making less than $25,000 per year, and those who are widowed or divorced. Young adults showed significant improvement from 2018, however, when only 58 percent felt at least somewhat safe walking in their neighborhoods at night. Racial disparities in the percentage feeling safe at night in their neighborhood have also diminished over the past year, with 75 percent of blacks saying they feel at least somewhat safe in 2019 compared to 58 percent in 2018, a statistically significant difference. The percentage of residents who feel safe downtown at night continues to be low, however, at 57 percent.