Scoping a new city can be difficult, especially when all new residents have to rely on is word of mouth. It’s the agent‘s job to direct new homebuyers and renters in the right direction – toward a neighborhood that will suit their needs and garner a safe investment and lifestyle.
Graphiq began going city by city to pull data with a targeted twist. The visualization data firm has launched crime portals in San Francisco, Chicago, Baltimore and New York City, with plans to roll out the maps across a few dozen cities over the next year.
“It’s not so much about providing data, but providing more context. We see the agents as central to that role,” said Alex Rosenberg, vice president at Graphiq. “Agents have deep knowledge about local areas and how datasets impact real estate.”
Graphiq’s crime portals are update live. As soon as the source updates data, new information is reflected on the visualizations.
“We don’t just plot on a map or plop the data down on a visualization, but we give a lot of context with coloring, shading and natural language descriptions on the crime referenced,” Rosenberg said.
Graphiq plans to incorporate more insights, like days of the week and how crimes have trended over time.
“Part of what we’re doing is try agents and brokers to reference something authoritative while having the discussion about crime,” he said. “We’re public in a lot of information and putting it in the homebuyers’ hands, but we’re also trying to help add context to the conversation between homebuyers and agents.”
Safest neighborhoods in San Francisco
According to the portal, the number of recent crimes in San Francisco is lowest in 94121, 94118, 94127, 94131, 94014 and 94158 ZIP codes. Each of these ZIPs has 16 or fewer reports of violent crimes, including assault, robbery and sex offenses in the 30-day period between June 21 and July 21.
Over a one-year period dating back to July 2015, the safest ZIP in San Francisco is 94130, also known as Treasure Island. Treasure Island is east of the city, about halfway between San Francisco and Oakland near the Bay Bridge.
portal screenshot
The second safest ZIP is 94158, with 64 violent crimes annually. This ZIP is located in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood, just south of AT&T Park.
Safest neighborhoods in Chicago
Year-over-year, Chicago’ safest ZIPs are 60176 and 60131, with one and two violent crimes, respectively.
portal screenshot
The safest neighborhood, 60176, is in Schiller Park, just east of O’Hare Airport in the west Chicagoland area. The next safest area, 60131, is in Franklin Park, just south Schiller Park.
Safest neighborhoods in Baltimore
In Baltimore County, Nottingham (21236) has just four year-over-year violent crime incidences.
portal screenshot
Pikesville (21208), just northwest of the city limits, is number two, with six violent crimes in the last year.
Safest neighborhoods in New York City
New York City is organized by precinct based on murder, non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and grand larceny of a motor vehicle.
portal screenshot
These incidents occur less frequently in Central Park Precinct in the Upper West Side, with just one recorded episode in the past year.
