Data Story
City Survey: Feelings of Safety
The San Francisco City Survey asks residents to rate their feelings of safety.
Controller's OfficeOverall feelings of safety
The City Survey asks residents to rate their feelings of safety walking alone in their neighborhood during the day and at night. The reported overall safety rating is an average of those two grades.
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Data notes and sources
The City Survey objectively assesses San Francisco residents’ use of and satisfaction with various city services. It was conducted annually from 1996 through 2005, and biennially from 2005 through 2019. The 2021 survey was skipped due to the COVID-19 pandemic, surveying was resumed in 2023, and 2026 was the most recent survey.
Ratings are scored on a scale of A-Excellent to F-Failing. Most outcomes in the City Survey are developed by averaging responses to create a mean score using a five-point grading scale (A equals five points and F equals one point).
The Safety rating is an average of each resident’s grade of their feeling of safety in their neighborhood during the day and at night.
In 2015, the survey methodology changed from mail to phone. In 2023 the survey methodology changed to include phone, text, online, and intercept methods to reach a more representative sample of San Francisco residents. In 2026, methodology changed again, excluding intercept methods to avoid satisficing bias of in-person surveying. Therefore, differences in results between survey years with changing methodologies should be interpreted with caution.
Survey results are weighted in order to make the sample more accurately match the distribution of San Francisco residents across demographic categories as reflected in the census. The averages displayed in reporting are the weighted averages.
View and download City Survey data
View the 2026 survey instrument to see exact language used in each question.
View the 2026 City Survey detailed methodology.
Visit the City Survey home page for more information.
What does the 2026 data show?
The 2026 survey results show an increase in overall feelings of safety from a C+ in 2023 to a B in 2026. The C+ average grade (3.3) in 2023 was the lowest grade since 1996.
Find out more about City Survey data and reports
Visit the City Survey home page to find additional reporting and information from 2026 as well as previous years.