Is San Francisco safe?
United States · North America · data updated 2026-09-04
San Francisco is a city in United States, home to about 1.5M people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 3,854 of 6,168, with a safety score of 65.9 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.
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 San Francisco really?
The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: San Francisco recorded 4.2 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 San Francisco. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 4.2 /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
- 1.5Murban centre · 3,007/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 San Francisco 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
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 San Francisco that gives 65.9/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
San Francisco compared with San Francisco
| Measure | San Francisco | San Francisco | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 65.9 | 66.8 | −0.9 — better for San Francisco |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 4.2 /100k | 3.7 /100k | +0.5 /100k — better for San Francisco |
| 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 San Francisco →
Nearby cities
- Concord 55.6
- Vallejo 63.7
- San Francisco 66.8
- Antioch 63.7
- Santa Rosa 63.7
- Stockton 56.4
- Modesto 63.7
- Sacramento 62.1
See San Francisco on the interactive map → · Safest cities in North America → · Full travel briefings →