Last Updated: June 2026
Safest and Most Dangerous Neighborhoods in San Antonio, TX (2026 Update)
San Antonio is a city of dramatic contrasts when it comes to neighborhood safety. The same metro area that includes some of the safest suburban communities in Texas also contains neighborhoods where your chance of being a victim of crime is several times higher than the national average. Understanding how crime is distributed across San Antonio — and what the current data actually shows — matters whether you are looking for a home, evaluating where to send your children to school, or simply trying to understand the city you live in.
San Antonio’s Overall Crime Picture in 2025-2026
San Antonio’s overall crime rate stands at approximately 5,951 per 100,000 residents — 49% higher than the Texas average and 75% higher than the national average. That headline number, however, obscures enormous variation across the city’s neighborhoods. Your chance of being a victim of crime in San Antonio varies by neighborhood, ranging from 1 in 14 in the central neighborhoods to 1 in 38 in the northeast.
The violent crime rate in the San Antonio area is 3.921 per 1,000 residents in the typical year, and residents generally consider the north part of the city to be the safest. When looking at total crime counts, the west parts of San Antonio see the most incidents — about 1,834 violent crimes per year — while the north part of the city has the fewest, with approximately 568 annually.
The geographic pattern is consistent across multiple data sources: the northeast and northwest areas of San Antonio carry significantly lower crime rates than the central and east sides of the city.
The Safest Neighborhoods in San Antonio
**Alamo Heights — Northeast Section**
Alamo Heights consistently ranks among the safest areas in San Antonio. The northeastern portion of Alamo Heights in particular has some of the lowest crime rates in the city. Even the southwestern segments of Alamo Heights, which have moderate crime rates relative to the rest of the neighborhood, fall well below what residents experience toward the center of San Antonio. Alamo Heights also offers highly rated schools, walkable commercial areas along Broadway, and proximity to Brackenridge Park — making it one of the most desirable residential areas in the city for families.
**Timberwood Park**
Timberwood Park, TX, crime costs $173 per person — $287 less than the San Antonio city average — making it one of the lowest crime-cost communities in the entire metro area. Located in the upper San Antonio region, Timberwood Park is a custom-home community covering over 2,200 acres with scenic hill country views, a swimming pool, playground, and a 30-acre park. Its distance from the city center and its suburban character contribute to crime rates that fall well below both the city and national averages.
**Cibolo**
Cibolo is a rapidly growing suburban community in the northeastern reaches of the San Antonio metro, located in Guadalupe County. Its crime rate is substantially lower than central San Antonio and falls below the national average. Cibolo has attracted families with its highly rated Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD schools, newer residential developments, and the kind of suburban infrastructure — parks, retail, restaurants — that supports stable, lower-crime communities. Its population has grown significantly in the past decade as San Antonio families sought lower crime rates and better schools outside the city center.
**Other Consistently Safe Areas**
Stone Oak, in the far north along US-281, and Alamo Ranch, in the northwest near Loop 1604, also rank among the safer areas in the San Antonio metro based on crime data. Both are newer planned communities with strong retail infrastructure and above-average household incomes — factors that correlate with lower property and violent crime rates.
The Most Dangerous Neighborhoods in San Antonio
The most dangerous neighborhoods in San Antonio based on data reported through 2025 are Coliseum Oaks/Willow Park, the Hein-Orchard area, and Wheatley Heights. In general, the east side of San Antonio represents the higher crime risk for violent and property crimes.
**Coliseum Oaks / Willow Park (AT&T Arena Area)**
Coliseum Oaks/Willow Park ranks at or near the top of San Antonio’s most dangerous neighborhoods based on 2024-2025 crime data. The area has some of the lowest median incomes and median home values in the city, and both property crime and violent crime rates significantly exceed the San Antonio average. Its location in the central-east part of the city places it in the geographic corridor where crime rates are consistently elevated.
**Hein-Orchard**
According to 2025 data, Hein-Orchard is identified at or near the top of the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods. It is an area where both violent crime and property crime are significantly elevated compared to many other parts of San Antonio. Property crime in Hein-Orchard includes high rates of theft, burglary, and vehicle break-ins. Violent crime rates — including assault and robbery — also substantially exceed city averages.
**Wheatley Heights**
Wheatley Heights is among the most dangerous neighborhoods in San Antonio based on 2024-2025 crime data. Located on the east side, it shares the geographic and socioeconomic characteristics of other high-crime areas in central-east San Antonio — limited retail infrastructure, lower median incomes, and crime rates that significantly exceed both the city and national averages.
**Pecan Valley and Denver Heights**
Pecan Valley, Denver Heights, and Wheatley Heights are among the most dangerous neighborhoods in San Antonio, with crime rates significantly above the national average. Both are located on the east side and have historically experienced elevated violent and property crime rates that make them consistent presences on the city’s high-crime lists.
How to Research Crime in Your Specific San Antonio Neighborhood
The neighborhood-level data above provides useful context, but crime rates within specific neighborhoods can vary significantly by block — and they change over time as development, policing strategies, and demographics shift. The most reliable tools for researching crime in a specific area of San Antonio are the following.
The San Antonio Police Department Crime Map shows reported incidents by type and location on an interactive map that can be filtered by date range and crime category. This is the most current and most granular crime data available for San Antonio and reflects actual SAPD incident reports rather than statistical estimates.
CrimeGrade.org aggregates crime data by neighborhood and assigns letter grades from A to F based on crime rates relative to national averages. It provides a useful comparative view across different San Antonio neighborhoods and allows you to compare specific areas you are considering.
AreaVibes and NeighborhoodScout both provide neighborhood-level crime statistics compiled from FBI uniform crime reporting data and local law enforcement sources, with the caveat that their data typically lags current conditions by one to two years.
What Higher Crime Rates Mean Beyond Statistics
For San Antonio residents, crime rates are not just abstract statistics — they have real consequences. A vehicle break-in in a high-crime neighborhood means lost property, a shattered window, and the time and expense of filing a police report and dealing with insurance. A home burglary means the violation of feeling safe where you live. And a violent crime — assault, robbery, or worse — means physical and psychological consequences that extend far beyond the incident itself.
If you or someone you know has been affected by a crime in San Antonio — whether as a victim seeking to understand the legal process or as someone facing criminal charges — Barton & Associates has practiced criminal defense and represents personal injury clients throughout Bexar County since 2001. Our criminal defense attorneys are board-certified, former prosecutors, and available 24 hours a day at 210-500-0000.
Understanding your neighborhood’s crime profile is the first step toward protecting yourself and your family. The data exists — using it is a matter of knowing where to look.
