Are you going to California and wondering which areas to avoid in San Jose, the most dangerous and safest neighborhoods to stay in?
It is true that now, as in many European or American cities, when looking for accommodation, it is more prudent to check in advance if there are neighborhoods to avoid in San Jose.
In this article, we list the most dangerous neighborhoods in San Jose with a Google Maps map to find out where they are exactly. Then you will find the list of the safest neighborhoods and advice on the best places to stay in San Jose in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Is San Jose dangerous?
San Jose, California is not one of the most dangerous cities in the United States. Among the largest American cities, San Jose is even one of the safest cities! This is confirmed by many statistics, such as those of statistics, worldpopulationreview,areavibes, city data, realestate.usnews or FBI.
In 2021, SmartAsset ranked San Jose as the 10th safest city in the United States tied with San Diego.
However, early release policies from prisons are believed to have led to a 10,4% increase in crime between 2020 and 2021 (see article from the sanjosespotlight.com).
According to the police dashboard, hate crimes in San Jose increased by 500% between 2016 and 2021 (see article: San Jose: New 'Police Dashboard' Report Shows Alarming Increase In Hate Crimes).
But then, what about today in 2024?
Is San Jose a safe city in 2024?
In 2024, San Jose is also not among the most crime-ridden cities in the USA.
For example, according to the latest ranking of American cities from Numbeo, in terms of crime, San Jose is in the low average because it is ranked 34th most criminal city in the United States.
With a crime index of 47.52, in comparison San Jose is a less dangerous city than St. Louis, Baltimore, Detroit, Memphis, Chicago and many others.
And to compare at the global level, still according to Numbeo, San Jose is one of the cities with an average crime index. In 2024, San Jose is less criminal than Rome, Paris ou Athens but would be more dangerous than Toronto, Amsterdam ou Istanbul.
Is San Jose safe for tourists?
San Jose is a safe city for tourists as long as you always remain cautious.
In fact, in general, the violent crimes recorded in San Jose do not directly concern tourists. Indeed, crime in the city is mainly linked to drug trafficking and gang wars. This crime is well localized in certain areas of San Jose where tourists generally do not go (see list below).
Neighborhoods of San Jose
The city of San Jose has 5 major areas:
- Central San Jose
- West san jose
- North San Jose
- East san jose
- South san jose
These areas of San Jose include many districts and neighborhoods listed at wikipedia.
To locate the neighborhoods to avoid in San Jose and the best places to stay listed below, here is the map of the main neighborhoods in the city: Google map
Areas to avoid in San Jose
To simplify, we can say that the two main areas to avoid in San Jose, especially at night, are: Downtown and East San Jose. Even with a reinforced and visible police presence, thefts and attacks contribute to the insecurity of the inhabitants.
West San Jose is a good area of San Jose except for a few neighborhoods to avoid like those near Bascom Avenue, Highway 280, and some of the Winchester neighborhoods near Payne.
San Jose's Most Dangerous Neighborhoods
Summarizing online data in 2024 (crimegrade.org, areavibes.com, neighborhoodscout.com, CrimeMapping and others), here are the most dangerous neighborhoods in San Jose:
- Downtown
- fairgrounds
- East San Jose
- Some places of North San Jose
- Buena Vista
- Alum Rock
- East Foothills
- edenvale
It should also be noted that these crime rates include crimes such as car theft, pickpocketing and burglary.
But to form your own opinion, you can also consult the data published by the San Jose police: sjpd.org/records/crime-stats-maps
San Jose's Safest Neighborhoods
Apart from the neighborhoods to avoid in San Jose listed above, it remains to know now which are the safest neighborhoods to stay. Indeed, San Jose is a very pleasant place to live with many safe and quiet neighborhoods.
Among the best neighborhoods in San Jose, real estate agencies and professionals cite in priority:
- Evergreen
- Berryessa (but see comment at bottom of page)
- West san jose
- Cambrian
- Almaden Valley
- Edenvale - Seven Trees
- Blossom Valley
- Willow glen
- Rosemary Garden
- Castro
- Willow Glen South-Lincoln Glen
- East Virginia
- Casa Particular in Santa Clara
Where to stay in San Jose outside areas to avoid in San Jose
Many will tell you that Downtown is the best neighborhood to be closer to San Jose's tourist attractions, museums, theaters...
But given the crime rate in this area, it is better to go there during the day when there is no risk and to choose your hotel in another safer area. However, whether for a tourist stay or a business trip, it is better to choose an interesting, lively and lively district.
Among the many very safe and pleasant places to choose your hotel, here are the 2 areas that I recommend: Willow Glen/Campbel et Casa Particular in Santa Clara
Safe neighborhoods in San Jose: Willow Glen – Campbel
Willow glen et Campbell are two areas located south of downtown San Jose. This area is commercial with shops, galleries, shopping centers but also very lively with many trendy bars and restaurants. These are safe neighborhoods with beautiful Victorian-style buildings and pretty tree-lined streets and 1930s homes.
The hotel I recommend is the DoubleTree by Hilton Campbell – Pruneyard Plaza
Silicon Valley Safe Neighborhood: Santa Clara
Casa Particular in Santa Clara is not a neighborhood but a town northwest of San Jose. Very close to the airport, it is a rapidly developing technological hub of Silicon Valley. There are digital giants and new technologies such as Intel, Applied Materials, Agilent Technologies, Nvidia and National Semiconductors.
For tourists, Santa Clara is home to the intel museum, California's Great America amusement park, numerous water parks, Moffett Field golf course, Levi's Stadium and the Triton Museum of Art.
The hotel I recommend in Silicon Valley is the Element Santa Clara:
This guide is a synthesis of the data available on the web about the neighborhoods of San Jose. It therefore does not involve any judgment or discrimination. Its sources come from forums, press articles, statistics and web rankings.
I just did a safety check of my zip code the other day and found it to be one of the very safest in San Jose. It is in Santa Teresa. Yet you named Santa Teresa as one of the most dangerous?? You'd do better to say “the area around Oakridge Shopping Center” or “the neighborhood surrounding Kaiser Hospital”. Even then, the crime isn't anything to worry much about. Also, there are more murders in our old Berryessa neighborhood. So…I think you need to update.
Hello,
Thank you very much for this very useful comment. I am publishing it so that readers can use your information. Also, I rectify for the Santa Teresa neighborhood.
“Old Berryessa neighborhood”. Haha, my location. Berryessa was second after Evergreen on the list above where “real estate agents and professionals cite as the best..”. Ahead of Willow Glen? Psh. Yeah right! Berryessa is not particularly bad but I wouldn't say it's “desirable”, especially ahead of Willow Glen, Rose Garden, Campbell, and a few others. Berryessa demographics make it – not very desirable for anyone outside of a handful of specific Asian ethnicities (primarily Indian and Vietnamese). Non-Asian grocery stores, restaurants, services and anything really, are VERY limited and continue to evaporate as “neutral/no specific ethnicity” businesses close and get replaced with Asian businesses.
Articles fail to mention, about Evergreen, the HORRENDOUS commute that anyone who lives there faces anytime they head anywhere that isn't south or east! (Evergreen is located on the far east and south border of SJ, so basically heading anywhere will result in a NIGHTMARE commute.) Evergreen isn't directly accessible by freeway, and so residents must go as far south as possible on a freeway (heading south is BAD on 101) and then a headache surface road commutes the rest of the way. JUST the commute horrors are more than enough to prevent me from ever considering Evergreen (and Silver Creek) as good places to live.
From a legitimate, lifelong SJ resident, the most desirable areas are HANDS DOWN, Willow Glen, Campbell, Los Gatos, Rose Garden, Almaden (but beware of ANY south commute), Saratoga, Cambrian Park, and Cupertino. Avoid anything between Berryessa and Evergreen, and east of downtown. That's it really. Anywhere outside of the area bordered by Downtown/Berryessa/Evergreen is going to be good, just some are standout best. If you have money to move to SJ, in general, I'd suggest looking at Mountain View and the surrounding areas, including Sunnyvale. Better location than SJ and closer to awesome Los Altos and other insanely affluent peninsula areas.
Ultimately, a five min drive in any potential area will tell you all you need to know (except the commute info which – just look at Google traffic maps to/from and near any potential living and working destinations from 6am-9am, and 2pm- 7pm on any weekday, that's all you need to analyze as far as commute goes).