Areas to Avoid in Atlanta: Neighborhood Safety Map (2026 Data)

The areas to avoid in Atlanta are on the Westside, in northwest and west Atlanta and in a belt of neighborhoods just south of Downtown. Between October 2025 and September 2026, 25 of the 131 neighborhoods with at least 1,000 residents recorded 15 or more violent crimes per 1,000 residents, about double the city average of 7.3. Those neighborhoods are home to 16% of Atlantans and account for 46% of the city’s homicides and 46% of its gun incidents.

Areas to avoid: English Avenue, Vine City, Bankhead, Hunter Hills, Washington Park, Ashview Heights, West End, The Villages at Castleberry Hill and Marietta Street Artery on the Westside. Harland Terrace, Florida Heights, Adamsville, Mays, Dixie Hills, Grove Park, Center Hill and Scotts Crossing in west and northwest Atlanta. Mechanicsville, Peoplestown, Pittsburgh, Perkerson and Lakewood Heights south of Downtown.

Three more neighborhoods reach the same tier because the crowds that pass through them far outnumber the people who live there: Downtown, Castleberry Hill and Sweet Auburn. The risk there is theft from cars. Midtown, Buckhead, Virginia-Highland, Inman Park and most of Atlanta north and east of Downtown have violent crime rates below the city average. Atlanta Police recorded 13% more violent crimes than in the 12 months before, driven by aggravated assaults, which rose 24%. Homicides fell 9% and robberies fell 16%.

Atlanta safety map

Red areas are the ones to avoid and orange areas call for caution. Grey areas are neighborhoods with fewer than 1,000 residents, mostly industrial land, parks and campuses. Use the region buttons to zoom in, and switch the map to Theft & robbery to see where car break-ins and shoplifting happen, which is mostly where the crowds are. Tap or hover over a neighborhood for its numbers.

Violent crimeTheft & robbery

All AtlantaNorthCentral & EastWestSouthwestSouth

Violent crimes per 1,000 residents

Avoid (15+ per 1,000)Use caution (10–15)Average (5–10)Lower risk (under 5)Few or no residents

Thefts & robberies per area

300+150–29950–149Under 50

Tap or hover a neighborhood to see its numbers.

Table of Contents

• Areas to avoid in Atlanta
• Areas to be careful in
• Is Downtown Atlanta safe?
• Is Midtown safe?
• Is Buckhead safe?
• Is MARTA safe?
• Hartsfield-Jackson Airport
• Safest neighborhoods to stay in Atlanta
• Atlanta safety tips for visitors
• How this map was made
• FAQ

Areas to avoid in Atlanta

These are the 25 neighborhoods with at least double the city’s violent crime rate. Most are residential, and the violence in each is concentrated on particular blocks. There is no visitor reason to walk through most of them, especially at night. Rates in the smallest neighborhoods rest on a few dozen crimes, so treat the ranking within the list as approximate.

The Westside: English Avenue, Vine City and Bankhead

English Avenue (32.8 per 1,000 residents) recorded 6 homicides, the most of any Atlanta neighborhood, and 54 gun incidents, second only to Downtown. Bankhead (39.8) has the second-highest rate in the city, 5.5 times the average. Hunter Hills, Washington Park, Ashview Heights and Marietta Street Artery are in the same cluster.

Vine City (20.3) is the one visitors meet. It sits beside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and its MARTA station on the Blue and Green lines is one of the two that serve the stadium, with SEC District (formerly GWCC/CNN Center) the other. On event days, ride the train, walk to the gate with the crowd and leave the same way. Listings that say “near Mercedes-Benz Stadium” can be in Vine City or English Avenue, so check the address on the map before you book.

West End (18.1) has the Wren’s Nest, the house museum of Joel Chandler Harris, and a MARTA station on the Red and Gold lines. Go by train in daylight and return the same way.

South of Downtown: Mechanicsville, Peoplestown and Pittsburgh

Mechanicsville (21.4 per 1,000) recorded 95 violent crimes, the fifth most of any neighborhood, and 36 gun incidents. Peoplestown (21.2) and Pittsburgh (15.7) sit beside it, and Perkerson (20.7) and Lakewood Heights (23.4) continue the pattern farther south. None has an attraction that draws visitors. Summerhill (5.4), which holds Center Parc Stadium, the former Turner Field, is in the average tier.

West and northwest Atlanta

Harland Terrace (66.3 per 1,000) has the highest violent crime rate in the city, 9.1 times the average, in a neighborhood of 1,628 residents. Florida Heights (25.8), Adamsville (25.5) and Mays (24.6) are in the same part of town. Grove Park (15.9), Dixie Hills (21.0), Center Hill (15.8) and Scotts Crossing (16.0) make up the northwest group. Grove Park recorded 4 homicides, tied for the third most in the city.

Downtown, Castleberry Hill and Sweet Auburn

Downtown has more violent crimes than any other neighborhood, 294, and the second-most thefts and robberies, 1,121. Its per-resident rate of 16.0 per 1,000 puts it in the avoid tier, but only 18,345 people live there, while the stadium, the arena, the aquarium, Centennial Olympic Park, the convention center, the Capitol and Georgia State University draw many times that number every day. The same is true of Castleberry Hill (21.1), the gallery and loft district beside the stadium, and Sweet Auburn (16.0), where Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, the King Birth Home and Ebenezer Baptist Church are. See Is Downtown Atlanta safe? for how to visit them.

Areas to be careful in

Another 13 neighborhoods have between 10 and 15 violent crimes per 1,000 residents. They are in west, southwest and south Atlanta, and few have anything for visitors.

Two are worth knowing. Greenbriar (12.3 per 1,000) is centered on Greenbriar Mall and has more thefts and robberies, 153, than any other neighborhood in this tier. Oakland City (12.2) has a MARTA station on the Red and Gold lines, so riders pass through it on the way to and from the airport.

Is Downtown Atlanta safe?

Downtown is safe in the stadium district and along Peachtree Street during the day and on event nights. It is also where Atlanta’s car break-ins concentrate. In Downtown and Midtown together, 59% of thefts involve a vehicle and 33% happen in parking lots and decks. Citywide, 55% of violent crimes happen in homes and apartments and 16% on streets and sidewalks.

• Leave nothing in the car, including bags in the trunk. Take everything with you or park in an attended deck.
• Walk between the stadium district, Centennial Olympic Park, the aquarium and Peachtree Street with the crowd. After events, don’t walk south of the Capitol or west toward Vine City.
• After dark, take a rideshare or taxi between Downtown and the neighborhoods around it instead of walking.
• Take the Atlanta Streetcar ($1 each way) between Centennial Olympic Park and Sweet Auburn by day, and check MARTA’s streetcar page for current service.

Is Midtown safe?

Midtown is safe for visitors. Its violent crime rate of 4.4 per 1,000 is 0.6 times the city average. It also recorded 1,130 thefts and robberies, more than any other neighborhood in Atlanta. The offices, hotels, the Fox Theatre, the High Museum and Piedmont Park bring cars, and a bag left on a seat is the main way a visit goes wrong. Citywide, police recorded 4,388 thefts from vehicles in 12 months, more than any other kind of theft.

Is Buckhead safe?

Buckhead is one of the safest parts of Atlanta for violent crime. Buckhead spans NPUs A, B and C, which recorded 1.9 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, about a quarter of the city average. North Buckhead has 2.1 and Buckhead Village has 3.7. The risk is theft: the Lenox Square area recorded 337 thefts and robberies, the sixth most in the city, and Lindbergh/Morosgo recorded 363. Park in the mall’s decks, take everything with you and don’t leave bags visible in the car.

Is MARTA safe?

MARTA is the cheapest way from the airport to Midtown and Buckhead. The Red and Gold lines run from the Airport station through Five Points to Midtown in about 25 minutes, and a one-way fare is $2.50 by Breeze card or contactless bank card. The Atlanta Police data in this article does not include MARTA, which has its own police department. Call MARTA Police at 404-848-4911 in an emergency, or text 1-877-371-8477 or use the MARTA See & Say app to report a problem.

Hartsfield-Jackson Airport

Atlanta Police recorded 597 thefts and 76 violent crimes at and around Hartsfield-Jackson in 12 months. The airport handles more than 100 million passengers a year, so the risk to any one traveler is small. Keep bags in sight at the curb and in the rental car center, and use the official taxi or rideshare areas.

Safest neighborhoods to stay in Atlanta

These are the neighborhoods visitors stay in, with the same 12-month figures.

• Midtown (4.4 per 1,000) is the best base for a first visit. It has the Fox Theatre, the High Museum and Piedmont Park, MARTA’s Red and Gold lines run through it, and Downtown is a short ride away.
• Buckhead (3.7 in Buckhead Village, 2.1 in North Buckhead) has the lowest violent crime rates among the hotel districts. It is the farthest of them from Downtown.
• Virginia-Highland (2.4) and Inman Park (2.4) are restaurant neighborhoods a short drive from Midtown. Inman Park is on the BeltLine Eastside Trail.
• Old Fourth Ward (6.2) has Ponce City Market and the Eastside Trail. Its rate is close to the city average, and it had the third-most thefts and robberies in the city, so lock the car and keep nothing in view.
• Grant Park (4.4) has Zoo Atlanta. East Atlanta (5.4) has East Atlanta Village’s bars and music venues.
• Kirkwood (1.5) and Candler Park (0.8) are quiet residential neighborhoods. Candler Park is next to Little Five Points.
• Atlantic Station (6.3) is a shopping district with parking decks, which is where the car break-ins are.

Atlanta safety tips for visitors

• Check a rental’s exact address on the map before you book. A listing described as near Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Downtown or the Atlanta University Center can be in an avoid area.
• Leave nothing visible in a parked car. Thefts from vehicles were 4,388 of the 13,042 thefts in 12 months, the most common kind.
• Use rideshare or a taxi after dark between neighborhoods. 43% of violent crime happens between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.
• Use the BeltLine trails in daylight or when they are busy.
• Call 911 for emergencies.

How this map was made

Crime counts come from the Atlanta Police Department’s public crime data, which lists every offense reported to the department, for October 2025 through September 2026, the most recent 12 full months. Violent crime means murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Gun incidents are aggravated assaults and murders in which a firearm was involved. They count incidents, not victims. Population is the 2020 Census count, the most recent full count, assigned to neighborhoods by Census block.

The neighborhoods are the police department’s 242 neighborhood boundaries. 131 have at least 1,000 residents and are ranked. The other 111 are mostly industrial land, parks, campuses and small subdivisions, and are shown in grey. The tiers are Avoid (15 or more violent crimes per 1,000 residents), Use caution (10 to 15), Average (5 to 10) and Lower risk (under 5). The theft layer counts larceny and motor vehicle theft plus robbery, not rates, because a per-resident rate means little where most of the people present live elsewhere.

About 4% of records fall outside every neighborhood boundary, mostly at Hartsfield-Jackson, and are left out of the neighborhood counts. The data does not include MARTA Police, campus police such as Georgia Tech’s, or neighboring cities such as Decatur, East Point, College Park and Sandy Springs. Each neighborhood is large, and conditions change from block to block. Per-resident rates overstate risk where few people live and many visit, which applies to Downtown, Castleberry Hill and Sweet Auburn. We built the same map for the areas to avoid in Chicago, the areas to avoid in New York City, the areas to avoid in San Francisco, the areas to avoid in Los Angeles, the areas to avoid in Miami and the areas to avoid in Baltimore.

FAQ