New York scores 67 out of 100 (high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 3790 of 6168 cities worldwide. The score combines the homicide rate, nearby conflict deaths, income equality and human development from published data (UNODC, UCDP, World Bank, UNDP).

Is New York safe?

United States · North America · data updated 2026-09-04

66.6High · rank 3790 / 6,168
safer than 39% of ranked cities

New York is a city in United States, home to about 14M people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,790 of 6,168, with a safety score of 66.6 out of 100, placing it clearly above the global midpoint.

Emergency 911 (ambulance, fire, police)

No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for United States are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.

How safe is New York really?

The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: New York recorded 3.8 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2024 - close to the global city median. United States's income inequality is middling (Gini 41.8) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.

What the travel advisories say

The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for United States without any avoid-travel warning in force. Both advisories are country-level: no official source publishes verified neighborhood-level crime guidance for individual cities, which is why this page reports named areas only where an official source names them.

What to watch out for in United States

Terrorism in the USA · Protecting your belongings · Violent crime · Protests · Personal ID · Alcohol laws · Illegal drugs · LGBT+ travellers · Road travel · Vehicle safety · Petrol stations · Air travel · Snowstorms · Hurricanes · +6 more

Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for United States — country-level, not specific to New York. Read what each one says →

The numbers

Homicide rate: 3.8 /100kcity-measured, 2024
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 41.8country, 2024
Human development: HDI 0.938country, 2023
Income: $89,490/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 14Murban centre · 5,173/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 12.7 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 64/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 74/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 64/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 3.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.84Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 7.0 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 98%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 3.7 doctors /1k2.7 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards in United States

Earthquake: 7.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Cyclone: 7.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood: 7.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Tsunami: 7.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 4.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe United States as a whole, not New York specifically.

Same-sex sexual activity is legal in United States (as of 2025).

All country-level figures shared by every city in United States; none of them affect the safety score.

How the score works

Low homicide40%48

Peace25%100

Equality25%52

Development10%94

One fixed, calibrated mix for every city: 40% homicide · 25% peace · 25% equality · 10% HDI. Homicide and conflict deaths are measured outcomes; income inequality carries the structural share because it predicts real city violence far better than national income (which is shown above but scored at zero). Each factor maps to 0-100 against fixed anchors, missing data drops out and is never estimated, and cities with data behind less than half the weighting get “no data” instead of a score. For New York that gives 66.6/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

New York compared with Philadelphia

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours New York, red favours Philadelphia.
Measure	New York	Philadelphia	Difference
Safety score	66.6	56.1	+10.5 — better for New York
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	3.8 /100k	17 /100k	−13 /100k — better for New York
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	0	±0

Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in United States, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Philadelphia →

Nearby cities

See New York on the interactive map → · Safest cities in North America → · Full travel briefings →