15 Worst Neighborhoods in Staten Island, NY
Three sources rarely agree on exact numbers, but they agree on the shape: the north shore runs hotter than the south shore, and the borough overall is well below where it stood in the 1990s.
Sources: NeighborhoodScout, CrimeGrade.org, NYPD CompStat, Vertex Security
The headline numbers
Three trackers, three slightly different pictures. Here’s what each currently reports for the borough as a whole.
The weekly NYPD snapshot
Covering August 17 to August 23, 2026. Short-term swings and the year-to-date trend don’t always point the same direction, which is normal for a few dozen weekly incidents.
| Crime type | 2026 YTD | 2025 YTD | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murder | 3 | 2 | +50.0% |
| Rape | 50 | 51 | −2.0% |
| Robbery | 168 | 198 | −15.2% |
| Felony assault | 652 | 672 | −3.0% |
| Burglary | 173 | 202 | −14.4% |
| Grand larceny | 945 | 937 | +0.9% |
| Grand larceny auto | 197 | 144 | +36.8% |
| Total complaints | 2,188 | 2,206 | −0.8% |
For context: the borough logged 15,309 major complaints in 1990. In all of 2025, that number was 3,465, down more than 77% over three decades.
Neighborhoods worth knowing about
Toggle between the areas that still run hotter than the borough average and the ones that have recently flipped the other way.
Port Richmond
Former industrial hub still working through a post-industrial economy. Property crime and drug-related incidents remain common.
Higher crime
St. George / New Brighton
120th Precinct, flagged by Vertex Security as elevated relative to the rest of the borough, tied to activity near the ferry terminal.
Higher crime
Stapleton
Former maritime district in the middle of ongoing revitalization. Crime is easing overall, though pockets persist.
Higher crime
Clifton
Eastern shore, a mix of property crime and occasional violent incidents, though the neighborhood has shown improvement in recent years.
Higher crime
Mariners Harbor
Western shore. Unemployment and poverty rates that outpace the borough average, tracking with a higher crime rate.
Higher crime
Tompkinsville
North shore. Still runs above the borough average, though local efforts to improve conditions appear to be making headway.
Higher crime
Rosebank
Sits near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, a mix of poverty and progress. Not somewhere to wander alone late at night.
Higher crime
Arlington
In the middle of ongoing redevelopment. Economic challenges still weigh on safety in parts of the neighborhood.
Higher crime
Graniteville
Northwestern part of the island, still generally counted among the borough’s higher-crime neighborhoods today.
Higher crime
Elm Park
A diverse population and a mix of challenges alongside genuine improvement. Crime here still runs above the borough average.
Higher crime
Midland Beach
Known for its coastal charm, but property crime, mainly theft, is more common here than in many other Staten Island neighborhoods.
Higher crime
Charleston
Blends rural and suburban character. Property crime is more common here than violent crime, use extra caution in less-populated stretches.
Higher crime
Richmond Valley
Southern tip of the island. A mix of economic challenges and genuine positive momentum, though some pockets still deal with crime.
Higher crime
Huguenot
Southwestern part of the island, known mostly for its scenery. Doesn’t consistently show up on current worst-neighborhood rankings.
Higher crime
West Brighton
Older rankings called this one of the worst areas on the island. NeighborhoodScout’s current safest-neighborhoods list now includes it.
Improving
The safest neighborhoods, for contrast
Per NeighborhoodScout, mostly clustered on the south shore, which lines up with CrimeGrade’s finding that the southwest carries the lowest odds of victimization overall.
Tottenville South
Woodrow West
Eltingville
Oakwood West
Alverson Ave / Barrow Pl
Woodrow North
Pleasant Plains
West Brighton
Arden Heights North
