Crime & Women's Safety in San Francisco

San Francisco is very safe if you know where to go. I rate it so low because I spent the first 17 years of my life there and looking back, had some truly terrifying experiences that was partially due to being a reckless teenager (lol) and I’m so grateful I made it out without any serious harm. Be vigilant at night, go out with your friends and you’ll be fine <3

San Francisco in general is very safe relative to other American cities and countries. It has a larger problem with petty crime, less-so violent crime. I do not recommend venturing into the Tenderloin as this is an open-air drug scene, although city officials have more recently been cracking down on this due to recent resident voting for law reform. If you are in the Mission, also be mindful of walking around at night as a woman. Be vigilant and walk with a purpose, and you will be fine. Do not leave valuables in plain sight in vehicles as the likelihood of “smash and grabs” (window-breaking) is high.

San Francisco has great areas, and not so great areas. If you keep to yourself and don't flash a lot of money, you'll be fine. Would definitely avoid the tenderloin if alone at night, probably even the day as well.

I like most places areas just aren’t the safest at night and there are some places where they’re not safe. But overall generally, San Francisco is safe as long as you are not being ambiguously attraction seeking because there are people out there that would want to take your things! I’d say my biggest concern is someone noticing you have like something nice and they try to steal it but you should only worry about that at night time and if you’re in a not so nice part of San Francisco. San Francisco has nice parts,and it has bad parts like most places in the world so I’d say it’s pretty safe for tourists just be aware of your surroundings

I grew up 2 hrs south of SF so this is the closest major city I interacted with. I’m a native Californian as well , so making a trip into the city was something we did every few months during the early 2000´s, and when I became an adult, I made monthly visits there. It has always been unsafe in SF (I have a vivid memory of my mother get attacked by a disturbed homeless woman without any warning when I was 5yrs old). But even since my childhood, it has become progressively worse. I have now traveled through most of Europe and some pts of the Middle East solo during my early 20’s and still I can say with absolute certainty that SF is the most dangerous (and unhygienic) city I have ever been in: human feces, needles and condoms on the sidewalk, people walking in front of cars and laying in the road because they are so high and unaware, being verbally harassed and threatened by psychotic individuals on public transport, being grabbed physically by desperate people when you turn a corner and are the only one on the street, the list goes on. I was there a few months ago and it’s even worse than the last time. There is a reason why most businesses have left SF and people are moving out. It’s a city that lost its soul owing to the corruption and misguided policies of every SF mayor.

I have lived in San Francisco for 30 years. I know it is getting a bad wrap lately, but truth be told it’s like any other big city. Be smart, don’t walk around flashing your $$ belongings, and everything will be fine. With regard to the homelessness, it is true, but it is mostly in the Tenderloin & nearby areas. It’s not dangerous, it’s just very sad. I am comfortable walking through there during the daytime. I would not at night time just to be safe.

Solo travel experience

For my first solo trip, I went to San Francisco. Of course, with any city, there are sketchy areas to avoid, but generally, I felt really safe. The city is very easy to navigate and I was able to get around quite easily.

Solo travel experience

It was fairly safe! Although, I went back to my hostel when it got dark and I used Uber half the time for transportation. If you love seafood, I highly recommend Swan Osyter Depot (get there as early as you can because the wait can take long)! For dim sum, I recommend Good Mong Kok Bakery! If you like relaxing and sightseeing, just walking through Crissy Field East Beach is calm ans scenic. stayed at Green Tortoise hostel. 🐢 The staff and people there were friendly! The hostel was calm and cozy even though it was next to bars and nightclubs. Absolutely enjoyed my time there overall!

Couple travel experience

I visited San Francisco in December 2023 and stayed with my husband. It was a great trip, the weather was great. We went on long drives along the coast and we saw migratory butterflies, seals, and sea lions. There are many good hikes around the area and beaches as well.

Couple travel experience

I spent two days in San Francisco in August. I must mention that the weather was surprisingly cool, so you should take long clothes even in August. We slept in the Zeppelin Hotel, cute and pleasant. A beautiful and interesting city, I enjoyed the walk along the boardwalk, lots of shops and restaurants. I highly recommend going up for an amazing view of the whole city from the Coit tower, it was amazing!