---
title: "Areas to Avoid in Milwaukee: Neighborhood Safety Map (2026 Data)"
url: https://33travels.com/areas-to-avoid-in-milwaukee/
author: "Lena Marchetti"
published: 2026-11-10
updated: 2026-11-10
place: "United States"
---

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

The areas to avoid in Milwaukee are on the North Side, in a band that starts about a mile northwest of Downtown and runs from Holton Street west to about North 60th Street, between the Near West Side and Capitol Drive, plus Old North Milwaukee farther north along Silver Spring Drive. Between October 2025 and September 2026, 17 of the 141 neighborhoods with at least 1,000 residents recorded 20 or more violent crimes per 1,000 residents, twice the city rate of 10.2. They hold 14% of Milwaukee’s residents, 35% of its violent crime and 39 of its 106 homicides.

**Neighborhoods to avoid in Milwaukee:** North Division, Harambee, Borchert Field, Arlington Heights and Williamsburg along I-43 north of North Avenue. Amani, Franklin Heights, Metcalfe Park and Sherman Park between North 20th Street and Sherman Boulevard, with Uptown and Washington Park just west of them. Midtown, Triangle North, King Park, Cold Spring Park and Concordia on the near west side, south of North Avenue. Old North Milwaukee on the far north side.

Milwaukee’s violent crime rate is about the same as St. Louis’s and about two and a half times Austin’s. Downtown is not on the avoid list: Juneau Town, with City Hall and the Water Street bars, rates 8.0 per 1,000 and Kilbourn Town, with Fiserv Forum, rates 13.2. Theft is the main risk there. Citywide, violent crime fell 9% and homicides fell 19% compared with the 12 months before.

## Milwaukee safety map

Red neighborhoods are the places to avoid in Milwaukee and orange ones call for caution. Yellow is average, green is below average, and grey areas are parks, the airport, industrial land or neighborhoods with fewer than 1,000 residents. The beige towns around the edge, including West Milwaukee, Shorewood and West Allis, have their own police. Use the buttons to zoom to Downtown & East Side, North Side, Northwest, South Side or West Side & Southwest, and switch to **Theft & robbery** to see where car break-ins and shoplifting happen. Tap or hover over a neighborhood for its numbers.

Interactive tool: https://33travels.com/areas-to-avoid-in-milwaukee/

## Table of Contents

- [Areas to avoid in Milwaukee](#areas-to-avoid-in-milwaukee)
- [Areas to be careful in](#areas-to-be-careful-in)
- [Is downtown Milwaukee safe?](#is-downtown-milwaukee-safe)
- [Is Water Street safe at night?](#is-water-street-safe-at-night)
- [Is Brady Street safe?](#is-brady-street-safe)
- [Is the Third Ward safe?](#is-the-third-ward-safe)
- [Is Bay View safe?](#is-bay-view-safe)
- [Milwaukee crime rate](#milwaukee-crime-rate)
- [Car break-ins and car theft in Milwaukee](#car-break-ins-in-milwaukee)
- [Safest neighborhoods to stay in Milwaukee](#safest-neighborhoods-to-stay-in-milwaukee)
- [Wauwatosa, West Allis and the suburbs](#wauwatosa-west-allis-and-the-suburbs)
- [Milwaukee safety tips for visitors](#milwaukee-safety-tips-for-visitors)
- [How this map was made](#how-this-map-was-made)
- [FAQ](#faq)

## Areas to avoid in Milwaukee

These are the 17 neighborhoods with 20 or more violent crimes per 1,000 residents. Eight of them are in Common Council District 15, which has the highest rate of the 15 aldermanic districts, 24.8 per 1,000. Most of their violent crimes are aggravated assaults: 1,543 of 2,058.

| Neighborhood | Alder district | Violent crimes per 1,000 | vs. city avg | Homicides | Aggravated assaults | Thefts + robberies |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Metcalfe ParkDistrict 15 | District 15 | 40.7 | 4.0x | 0 | 71 | 45 |
| King ParkDistrict 4 | District 4 | 34.5 | 3.4x | 0 | 56 | 47 |
| North DivisionDistrict 15 | District 15 | 30.5 | 3.0x | 1 | 149 | 106 |
| Triangle NorthDistrict 15 | District 15 | 30.2 | 3.0x | 0 | 41 | 19 |
| Washington ParkDistrict 15 | District 15 | 28.4 | 2.8x | 2 | 93 | 100 |
| AmaniDistrict 15 | District 15 | 26.7 | 2.6x | 5 | 102 | 104 |
| Cold Spring ParkDistrict 4 | District 4 | 26.6 | 2.6x | 2 | 39 | 30 |
| Arlington HeightsDistrict 6 | District 6 | 24.7 | 2.4x | 4 | 75 | 79 |
| Franklin HeightsDistrict 7 | District 7 | 23.8 | 2.3x | 4 | 128 | 115 |
| Old North MilwaukeeDistrict 1 | District 1 | 23.2 | 2.3x | 8 | 191 | 215 |
| Sherman ParkDistrict 15 | District 15 | 23.1 | 2.3x | 4 | 113 | 108 |
| WilliamsburgDistrict 6 | District 6 | 23.0 | 2.3x | 1 | 39 | 62 |
| UptownDistrict 15 | District 15 | 22.0 | 2.2x | 1 | 92 | 112 |
| HarambeeDistrict 6 | District 6 | 21.5 | 2.1x | 3 | 169 | 179 |
| Borchert FieldDistrict 6 | District 6 | 20.8 | 2.0x | 3 | 47 | 52 |
| MidtownDistrict 15 | District 15 | 20.6 | 2.0x | 1 | 95 | 116 |
| ConcordiaDistrict 4 | District 4 | 20.2 | 2.0x | 0 | 43 | 53 |

### North Division, Harambee and the I-43 corridor

Five avoid areas line Interstate 43 between North Avenue and Capitol Drive. North Division (30.5) runs from North Avenue up to Burleigh Street, between North 20th Street and the freeway, and recorded 185 violent crimes. Borchert Field (20.8) and Arlington Heights (24.7) continue north along the same stretch to Keefe Avenue and Capitol Drive. Arlington Heights recorded 4 homicides.

East of the freeway, Harambee (21.5) fills the blocks between I-43 and Holton Street from North Avenue to Keefe Avenue. With 10,218 residents it is the second-largest avoid area and recorded 220 violent crimes. Williamsburg (23.0) is directly north of it, from Keefe Avenue to Capitol Drive. Riverwest, the next neighborhood east, rates 7.6, below the city average.

### Amani, Metcalfe Park, Sherman Park and Washington Park

Metcalfe Park has the highest rate in Milwaukee, 40.7 violent crimes per 1,000 residents. It lies between North Avenue and Center Street, from North 27th Street west to North 38th Street, and is home to 2,189 people. Amani (26.7), known as Park West until 2021, is east of it between North 20th and 27th Streets up to Burleigh Street, and recorded 5 homicides. Franklin Heights (23.8) is directly north, from Burleigh Street to Capitol Drive.

Sherman Park (23.1) runs up to Burleigh Street and Fond du Lac Avenue east of Sherman Boulevard. Uptown (22.0) is west of the boulevard between North Avenue and Center Street. Washington Park (28.4) is south of North Avenue, between North 35th and North 47th Streets down to Vliet Street, around the park of the same name.

### Midtown, King Park and the near west side

Five avoid areas sit south of North Avenue, between Downtown and Washington Park. Midtown (20.6) runs from North Avenue down to Highland Avenue between North 20th Street and about North 31st Street. Triangle North (30.2) and King Park (34.5) are east of it, toward I-43; King Park has the second-highest rate in the city. Both are small, with 1,458 and 2,028 residents, so a few crimes move their rates.

Cold Spring Park (26.6) and Concordia (20.2) lie between North 27th and North 35th Streets, south of Vliet Street. Concordia is the southernmost avoid area and sits just over the line.

### Old North Milwaukee

Old North Milwaukee (23.2) is the largest avoid area, 11,424 residents between Silver Spring Drive and Congress Street, from Sherman Boulevard east to North 27th Street and Teutonia Avenue. It recorded more violent crimes (265), homicides (8), aggravated assaults (191) and stolen vehicles (135) than any other Milwaukee neighborhood. None of the landmarks on the map is in an avoid area.

## Areas to be careful in

These 17 neighborhoods have 14 to 20 violent crimes per 1,000 residents. Together with the avoid areas they hold 27% of residents and 56% of violent crime. All but Hillside are in the North Side, Northwest and West Side views. Silver Spring (19.4), on the northwest side around Silver Spring Drive, has the highest rate in the Northwest and recorded 228 violent crimes, second only to Old North Milwaukee. Capitol Heights recorded 5 homicides.

| Neighborhood | Alder district | Violent crimes per 1,000 | vs. city avg | Homicides | Aggravated assaults | Thefts + robberies |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Silver SpringDistrict 2 | District 2 | 19.4 | 1.9x | 2 | 170 | 183 |
| ValhallaDistrict 2 | District 2 | 19.1 | 1.9x | 3 | 52 | 97 |
| Roosevelt GroveDistrict 7 | District 7 | 19.0 | 1.9x | 4 | 53 | 82 |
| Garden HomesDistrict 1 | District 1 | 18.6 | 1.8x | 3 | 24 | 48 |
| NorthridgeDistrict 9 | District 9 | 18.5 | 1.8x | 0 | 19 | 27 |
| Town & Country ManorDistrict 1 | District 1 | 18.4 | 1.8x | 3 | 41 | 47 |
| Capitol HeightsDistrict 2 | District 2 | 18.2 | 1.8x | 5 | 63 | 115 |
| Walnut HillDistrict 15 | District 15 | 17.8 | 1.8x | 0 | 40 | 39 |
| WoodlandsDistrict 9 | District 9 | 17.0 | 1.7x | 2 | 47 | 33 |
| Rufus KingDistrict 1 | District 1 | 16.7 | 1.6x | 3 | 57 | 85 |
| Saint JosephDistrict 7 | District 7 | 16.1 | 1.6x | 2 | 83 | 80 |
| Dineen ParkDistrict 10 | District 10 | 15.8 | 1.6x | 1 | 39 | 71 |
| HillsideDistrict 6 | District 6 | 15.8 | 1.6x | 0 | 26 | 28 |
| Lincoln CreekDistrict 7 | District 7 | 15.0 | 1.5x | 0 | 89 | 69 |
| Hampton HeightsDistrict 1 | District 1 | 14.3 | 1.4x | 1 | 68 | 90 |
| Northridge LakesDistrict 9 | District 9 | 14.3 | 1.4x | 0 | 24 | 42 |
| McGovern ParkDistrict 1 | District 1 | 14.2 | 1.4x | 0 | 33 | 36 |

## Is downtown Milwaukee safe?

Yes in the day and around events, with care late at night. Downtown is three neighborhoods. Juneau Town, east of the Milwaukee River, holds City Hall, the Water Street bars and the Public Market and rates 8.0 violent crimes per 1,000 residents. Kilbourn Town, west of the river, holds Fiserv Forum and the Deer District and rates 13.2. Yankee Hill, between Juneau Town and the lakefront, rates 2.5.

Few people live downtown compared with the workers, fans and hotel guests who fill it, so theft is the more common crime. Kilbourn Town recorded 199 thefts against 63 violent crimes, and Juneau Town 163 against 44. Within 300 meters of Fiserv Forum, police recorded 14 violent crimes in 12 months. The Milwaukee County jail on North 9th Street is in Kilbourn Town and is one of the busiest addresses in the file, but almost none of its reports are violent.

## Is Water Street safe at night?

Water Street, the bar strip from Wisconsin Avenue to Juneau Avenue, has had repeated late-night shootings. In July 2025 two people were killed outside a lounge at 618 North Water Street, and two more shootings followed on the 1300 and 1400 blocks two weeks later. The city answered with officers moved from other districts, Sheriff’s deputies, bar inspections and drones. On March 22, 2026, a 22-year-old man was killed and two people were wounded on Water Street, and over the July 4 weekend an officer was struck by a driver there. In September 2026 the local alderman said the district has a violence and disorder problem that no ordinance will fix.

Juneau Town as a whole recorded 44 violent crimes and 1 homicide in 12 months. If you go out on Water Street, leave before closing time and wait for your ride inside.

## Is Brady Street safe?

The neighborhood is, the late-night strip less so. Brady Street is in the Lower East Side, which rates 5.8 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, below the city average, but recorded 259 thefts, the most of any Milwaukee neighborhood. Within 250 meters of the middle of the strip, police recorded 33 violent crimes. In June 2026 three people were shot near Van Buren and Brady, one fatally, and a man was critically wounded near Farwell and Brady three days later. The business district, the police and the alderman had already planned a six-week summer safety pilot with more enforcement and signs.

## Is the Third Ward safe?

Yes. The Historic Third Ward, south of Downtown between the Milwaukee River and the lakefront, rates 4.2 violent crimes per 1,000 residents and recorded 0 homicides. Its problem is property crime: 61 thefts and 21 stolen vehicles. The Summerfest grounds at Henry Maier Festival Park are on its lake side. Summerfest says it screens every visitor with metal detectors and bag checks, and police ejected 21 people after fights on the last day of the 2025 festival.

## Is Bay View safe?

Yes. Bay View is the largest neighborhood in Milwaukee, with 16,478 residents along the lake, and rates 3.0 violent crimes per 1,000, under a third of the city rate. It recorded 195 thefts and 113 stolen vehicles. The whole South Side rates 4.9, the lowest of the five parts of town.

## Milwaukee crime rate

Milwaukee police recorded 5,937 violent crimes between October 2025 and September 2026, 10.2 per 1,000 residents, and 106 homicides. Compared with the 12 months before, violent crime fell 9%: robberies fell 24%, aggravated assaults 3% and homicides 19%. In calendar years, MPD’s year-end review counts 132 homicides in 2024 and 142 in 2025, and non-fatal shootings fell from 639 to 515.

District 15, which covers Metcalfe Park, Sherman Park, Washington Park, Amani, North Division and Midtown, has the highest violent crime rate of the 15 aldermanic districts, 24.8 per 1,000, followed by District 1 on the far north side at 16.6. District 11 on the southwest side has the lowest at 1.8. By part of town, the North Side rates 14.9, Downtown & East Side 11.6 and the South Side 4.9.

## Car break-ins and car theft in Milwaukee

Police recorded 2,668 thefts from vehicles in 12 months, 39% of all thefts, plus 641 thefts of parts such as catalytic converters and 4,039 stolen vehicles. Break-ins cluster where people park to eat and go out: Walker’s Point had the most, then the Lower East Side, Juneau Town and Riverwest. Stolen vehicles are spread wider, led by Old North Milwaukee and the Lower East Side. Vehicle thefts fell 29% in a year. Leave nothing in sight in a parked car, including bags, laptops and charging cables.

## Safest neighborhoods to stay in Milwaukee

Yankee Hill and the Historic Third Ward are Downtown’s lower-risk neighborhoods, a short walk from the Art Museum and the Public Market, and Summerfest is in the Third Ward. The Lower East Side has Brady Street and Prospect Avenue, with Murray Hill and the Upper East Side north of it toward UW-Milwaukee. Northpoint and Brewers Hill also rate well under the city average. Bay View is the pick on the South Side, and Story Hill holds American Family Field.

| Neighborhood | Alder district | Violent crimes per 1,000 | vs. city avg | Homicides | Aggravated assaults | Thefts + robberies |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Yankee HillDistrict 4 | District 4 | 2.5 | 0.3x | 1 | 7 | 42 |
| Historic Third WardDistrict 4 | District 4 | 4.2 | 0.4x | 0 | 4 | 66 |
| Murray HillDistrict 3 | District 3 | 2.0 | 0.2x | 0 | 7 | 93 |
| NorthpointDistrict 3 | District 3 | 2.2 | 0.2x | 0 | 4 | 47 |
| Upper East SideDistrict 3 | District 3 | 3.6 | 0.4x | 0 | 5 | 60 |
| Brewer's HillDistrict 6 | District 6 | 3.7 | 0.4x | 0 | 7 | 76 |
| Lower East SideDistrict 3 | District 3 | 5.8 | 0.6x | 1 | 59 | 279 |
| Bay ViewDistrict 14 | District 14 | 3.0 | 0.3x | 0 | 34 | 209 |
| Story HillDistrict 10 | District 10 | 3.6 | 0.4x | 0 | 4 | 14 |

Lake Park, with the Milwaukee Art Museum and Bradford Beach, has no rating because nobody lives there. The neighborhoods around Marquette University and UW-Milwaukee show almost no violent crime because campus police handle much of it, and their reports are not in MPD’s file.

## Wauwatosa, West Allis and the suburbs

The suburbs around Milwaukee have much lower violent crime rates than the city. The 11 other police departments in the table together reported 1.57 violent crimes per 1,000 residents in 2025, against 11.45 for Milwaukee in the same FBI data. Racine has the highest rate of the group. West Allis and Wauwatosa, which border the city’s west side, both report under a fifth of Milwaukee’s rate. Franklin and New Berlin report the lowest, with 19 violent crimes each.

| City | Population | Violent crimes | Per 1,000 | Year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Milwaukee | 559,717 | 6,409 | 11.5 | 2025 |
| Racine | 78,032 | 326 | 4.2 | 2025 |
| West Allis | 59,618 | 109 | 1.8 | 2025 |
| Wauwatosa | 48,869 | 87 | 1.8 | 2025 |
| West Bend | 32,251 | 55 | 1.7 | 2025 |
| Waukesha | 71,542 | 82 | 1.2 | 2025 |
| Greenfield | 37,076 | 39 | 1.1 | 2025 |
| Menomonee Falls | 41,236 | 37 | 0.9 | 2025 |
| Oak Creek | 38,780 | 28 | 0.7 | 2025 |
| Brookfield | 41,216 | 26 | 0.6 | 2025 |
| Franklin | 36,675 | 19 | 0.5 | 2025 |
| New Berlin | 40,264 | 19 | 0.5 | 2025 |

Murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault reported to the FBI by each agency, per 1,000 residents of the population the agency reports. Source: [FBI Crime Data Explorer](https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/). Agencies that report no complete year are left out.

## Milwaukee safety tips for visitors

- Stay Downtown, in the Third Ward, on the Lower East Side or in Bay View.
- Leave Water Street and Brady Street before bar closing, or wait for your ride inside.
- Walker’s Point had the most car break-ins in the city. Leave nothing in the car there or Downtown.
- The Hop streetcar is free and runs until midnight Monday to Saturday and until 10 p.m. on Sunday. Plan a rideshare for later trips.
- Take a rideshare to and from the North Side neighborhoods on the avoid list rather than walking between bus stops at night.
- Call 9-1-1 for emergencies and 414-933-4444 for non-emergency police service in the city.

## How this map was made

Crime counts come from the Milwaukee Police Department’s public NIBRS file for October 2025 through September 2026. October 2026 was still incomplete when the map was built, so the window ends in September. Violent crime means murder, rape and other forcible sex offenses, robbery and aggravated assault. MPD publishes one record per incident with every offense in it, and the map counts each offense once per incident. It does not count victims, so the map’s aggravated assault count runs below the FBI’s. The violent total for calendar 2025 is within 5% of MPD’s FBI report. Each crime is placed in a neighborhood by its map coordinates. Population is the 2020 Census count by block. Rates use the Census population, so they run slightly below the FBI’s rate for Milwaukee, which uses a smaller estimate. The suburban table uses each department’s reports to the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer.

The neighborhoods are the City of Milwaukee’s 190 official neighborhoods. The tiers are Avoid (20 or more violent crimes per 1,000 residents), Use caution (14 to 20), Average (7 to 14) and Lower risk (under 7). Crimes handled by the Milwaukee County Sheriff at Mitchell Airport, in the county parks and on the freeways, by UW-Milwaukee and Marquette University police and by the police of West Milwaukee and the other suburbs are not in MPD’s records. The hour of day is left out for crimes logged at exactly midnight, the default time. The theft layer counts thefts and robberies, not rates.

We built the same map for the [areas to avoid in Chicago](https://33travels.com/areas-to-avoid-in-chicago/), the [areas to avoid in New York City](https://33travels.com/areas-to-avoid-in-new-york-city/), the [areas to avoid in San Francisco](https://33travels.com/areas-to-avoid-in-san-francisco/), the [areas to avoid in Los Angeles](https://33travels.com/areas-to-avoid-in-los-angeles/), the [areas to avoid in Miami](https://33travels.com/areas-to-avoid-in-miami/), the [areas to avoid in Atlanta](https://33travels.com/areas-to-avoid-in-atlanta/), the [areas to avoid in Baltimore](https://33travels.com/areas-to-avoid-in-baltimore/), the [areas to avoid in Detroit](https://33travels.com/areas-to-avoid-in-detroit/), the [areas to avoid in Austin](https://33travels.com/areas-to-avoid-in-austin/), the [areas to avoid in Philadelphia](https://33travels.com/areas-to-avoid-in-philadelphia/), the [areas to avoid in St. Louis](https://33travels.com/areas-to-avoid-in-st-louis/), the [areas to avoid in Boston](https://33travels.com/areas-to-avoid-in-boston/), the [areas to avoid in Denver](https://33travels.com/areas-to-avoid-in-denver/), the [areas to avoid in Houston](https://33travels.com/areas-to-avoid-in-houston/) and the [areas to avoid in San Diego](https://33travels.com/areas-to-avoid-in-san-diego/).

## FAQ

What are the most dangerous neighborhoods in Milwaukee?

By violent crime per resident, the highest-rate neighborhoods are Metcalfe Park (40.7 per 1,000), King Park (34.5), North Division (30.5) and Triangle North (30.2). By count, Old North Milwaukee recorded the most violent crimes, 265, and the most homicides.

Is Milwaukee safe for tourists?

Yes, in the areas tourists use. The Historic Third Ward, Yankee Hill, the Lower East Side and Bay View all have below-average violent crime rates, and none of the 17 avoid areas holds a major attraction. The risk visitors are most likely to meet is theft from a parked car: police recorded 2,668 in 12 months.

Where should I not stay in Milwaukee?

Avoid booking on the North Side between Holton Street and Sherman Boulevard, north of Highland Avenue, and in Old North Milwaukee. Downtown, the Third Ward, the East Side and Bay View are the usual places to stay.

Is the area around Fiserv Forum safe?

Fiserv Forum and the Deer District are in Kilbourn Town, which rates 13.2 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, above the city rate of 10.2. Theft is the main problem there: 199 thefts in 12 months.

Is American Family Field in a safe area?

Yes. The ballpark is in Story Hill, which rates 3.6 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, about a third of the city rate.

Which crimes are missing from the Milwaukee map?

Crimes handled by other police: the Milwaukee County Sheriff at Mitchell Airport, in the county parks and on the freeways, UW-Milwaukee and Marquette University police on their campuses, and the police of West Milwaukee and the other suburbs.

Which Milwaukee neighborhoods are safest?

The far southwest side has the lowest violent crime rates: District 11 rates 1.8 per 1,000. Near the lake, Murray Hill (2.0), Yankee Hill (2.5) and Bay View (3.0) rate lowest among the neighborhoods visitors use.