Is Crown Heights Safe? Brooklyn Livability, Crime & Rent
Crown Heights scores a middle-of-the-road 5.9—solid transit and financial fundamentals offset weaker commute times and cultural density for pragmatic buyers.
Crown Heights at a glance
- Borough
- Brooklyn
- Livability score
- 5.9/10
- Borough rank (listing-scored guides)
- #3 of 11
- Safety verdict
- Much Higher Than Average
- Crimes (12 mo)
- 9,905
- Median listing
- $1.3M
- ZIP codes
- 11213 (44%), 11225 (21%), 11216 (19%), 11238 (11%)Share of residential units, NYC PLUTO 26v2
- Subway stations
- 10 (Franklin Av-Medgar Evers College/Botanic Garden, Kingston Av, President St-Medgar Evers College)
- Active listings
- 103
- Data updated
- 2026-04-04
Is Crown Heights Safe?
Crown Heights, Brooklyn scores 5.9/10 for overall livability, ranking #3 of 11 Brooklyn neighborhoods scored from for-sale listings. Crown Heights scores a middle-of-the-road 5.9—solid transit and financial fundamentals offset weaker commute times and cultural density for pragmatic buyers.
The livability score is the median DwellScore of 103 for-sale listings scored as of 2026-04-04. It does not include crime; NYPD complaint and shooting figures are on the Crown Heights safety page. Safety varies by block — check a specific Crown Heights address below for a block-level breakdown.
Score Overview
Vertical line = borough median. Scale: 0-10.
Practical measures unit features of the listings: in-unit laundry, bedrooms, bathrooms and building age. Scores and borough medians come from for-sale listings, so they are not comparable with the NYC Open Data guides.
Neighborhood Character
Crown Heights is a dense, mixed-income neighborhood where you'll walk tree-lined blocks—averaging 172 trees within 200 meters—past Caribbean restaurants, bodegas, and brownstones. The Brooklyn Museum anchors the eastern edge, and Prospect Park sits roughly 2.3 kilometers away, accessible via multiple transit lines (2, 3, 4, 5, S trains cluster around Franklin Avenue and Eastern Parkway). You'll encounter heavy foot traffic on main streets, storefront churches alongside galleries, and a neighborhood that feels lived-in rather than polished. The canopy is moderate at 4.7/10 density, so summer heat hits the pavement.
Analysis based on 103 properties scored across 30+ data points
Livability & Restoration
Tree Canopy
172 trees
Avg within 200m of listings | Density: 4.7/10
In Toronto, 10 more trees on a city block went with a rise in self-rated health comparable to being 7 years younger (Kardan et al., 2015, Scientific Reports). In a cross-sectional study of London boroughs, each additional street tree per km of street went with 1.18 fewer antidepressant prescriptions per 1,000 residents (Taylor et al., 2015, Landscape and Urban Planning).
Park Access
Prospect Park
Avg 2305m from listings to the nearest major park | Park proximity score (listing average): 2.3/10
Acoustic Quality
5/10
Noise proxy score (higher = quieter)
Environmental noise exposure increases the occurrence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease; WHO's night-noise guidelines call average outdoor night noise above 55 dB increasingly dangerous for public health (Basner et al., 2014, The Lancet).
Street Character
10/10
Enclosure: 10/10
What is the ART Score?
ART stands for Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989) — the framework environmental psychologists use to measure whether a place helps your brain recover from mental fatigue, or pushes it deeper into overload. Cities deplete directed attention (the effortful focus you use at work); exposure to restorative environments replenishes it.
DwellCheck uses the idea in two separate places, and they measure different things. The neighborhood ART score below is the median of DwellScore’s ART scores across 103 for-sale listings in the neighborhood. An address report has no ART score. It runs the Wellness checks below, and their points go into the address’s overall score.
Within a point of the Brooklyn median.
What an address report checks instead (Wellness)
- ±Sensory environment. A calm score minus a busy score, each starting at 50. Busy: a firehouse within 100m (+15) or 200m (+8), and 311 noise complaints within 200m over 6 months (15+ adds 5, 40+ adds 12, 80+ adds 20, and 3 more at 20+ complaints that include vehicle or street noise). Calm: a library (+15), community garden (+12) or public plaza or atrium (POPS; +15 indoor, +8 outdoor) within 200m, and a park within 300m (+10; +15 at 1+ acre; +20 at 5+ acres). A difference of +20 or more adds 8 points; −10 to −29 costs 2; −30 or less costs 4. Bars, museums, tourists and foot traffic are not counted.
- +Third places (Oldenburg, 1989). Public libraries, public plazas and atriums (POPS) and community gardens within 400m: 1–2 add 5 points, 3 or more add 10. Cafés and community centers are not counted. In a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies, loneliness or social isolation went with a 29% higher risk of incident coronary heart disease (Valtorta et al., 2016, Heart).
- 0Street vitality (Jacobs, 1961). Permitted block parties, farmers markets and similar community events in the borough over the past 12 months. The event data has no coordinates, so this is a borough-wide count shown for context. It doesn’t change the score.
Health mechanism. The theory holds that natural settings let directed attention recover. The evidence is mixed: a systematic review of 31 studies (Ohly et al., 2016, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B) found that time in natural environments improved 3 of 13 pooled attention measures (Digit Span Forward, Digit Span Backward and Trail Making Test B) and showed no marked benefit on the other 10.
Theoretical foundations. Kaplan & Kaplan (1989), The Experience of Nature; Jacobs (1961), The Death and Life of Great American Cities; Oldenburg (1989), The Great Good Place.
Transit & Commute
Subway Stations
Commute Score
6.4/10
Borough median: 8/10
Walk Score Proxy
10/10
Based on street geometry analysis
Financial Landscape
Median Price
$1.3M
Price per Sq Ft
$1109
Price Distribution
Scored Listings by Building Type
Investment Indicators
Avg Days on Market
89
Market velocity signal
Multi-Family Stock
17%
2-4 family buildings
Outdoor & Green Space
Avg Tree Count
172
Within 200m of listings
Canopy Density
4.7/10
Average canopy-density score of the scored listings
Nearest Major Parks
- Prospect Park
- Fort Greene Park
Listings average 2305m to their nearest major park.
Outdoor Space Types
Practical Living
Practical (unit features): 6.6/10 (Brooklyn median 6.4). It measures unit features of the listings: in-unit laundry, bedrooms, bathrooms and building age.
Scored Listings by Building Type
Share of the 103 scored for-sale listings, not of all buildings.
Bedroom Distribution
Laundry Availability
Who Crown Heights Is For
Long-term investor
Investment score of 6.3 (above borough median of 5.8) and median prices of $1.3M suggest stable property values; 79% of the scored listings are condos, which offers liquidity
Museum and culture proximity seeker
Brooklyn Museum is steps away; livability score of 5.3 reflects walkable cultural institutions and diverse dining, though not high nightlife/entertainment density
Transit-dependent commuter
Commute score of 6.4 is below borough median (8.0), but seven subway lines serve the neighborhood—adequate for outer-borough connectivity, not premium
Pros & Cons
Strengths
Strong transit access
Seven subway lines (2, 3, 4, 5, S, C) serve the neighborhood, with Franklin Avenue and Eastern Parkway as major hubs
Above-average financial resilience
Financial score of 6.4 versus borough median of 5.7; median price $1.3M with condos a solid majority of scored listings (79%)
Mature tree canopy
Average 172 trees within 200m provides street-level shade and green infrastructure above borough standards
Cultural anchor nearby
Brooklyn Museum location supports walkable arts programming and foot traffic
Trade-offs
Below-average commute efficiency
Commute score of 6.4 lags borough median of 8.0, indicating longer travel times to major employment centers
Moderate livability and arts density
ART/Livability score of 5.3 versus borough median of 5.0—marginal gain; nightlife and cultural venue concentration is modest
Limited green space immediately accessible
Prospect Park and Fort Greene Park average 2.3km away; canopy density of 4.7/10 is adequate but not exceptional
Slower property turnover
Average 89 days on market suggests moderate liquidity; no recent price appreciation data available
Score Any Address in Crown Heights
Get detailed livability scores based on building health, transit access, safety, noise levels, and 15+ NYC data sources.
Search an Address in Crown HeightsFrequently Asked Questions about Crown Heights
1Is Crown Heights safe?
By NYPD data, Crown Heights is rated "Much Higher Than Average", with a lower crime rate per resident than 22% of Brooklyn neighborhoods. 9,905 crime incidents and 22 shooting incidents over the past 12 months. See the safety page for the full breakdown.
2What is the average rent in Crown Heights?
Rents in Crown Heights, Brooklyn vary significantly by building and apartment type. The median listing price is $1.3M. Use DwellCheck to research specific addresses.
3How is transit access in Crown Heights?
Crown Heights has a commute score of 6.4/10. 10 subway stations serve the area: Franklin Av-Medgar Evers College/Botanic Garden, Kingston Av, President St-Medgar Evers College.
4What are the best streets in Crown Heights?
The best streets depend on your priorities. Use DwellCheck to compare specific addresses across livability, safety, transit, and environmental factors.
5What is Crown Heights known for?
Crown Heights sits in Brooklyn and ranks #3 of 11 Brooklyn neighborhoods scored from for-sale listings on DwellCheck's livability score (5.9/10). It's served by 10 subway stations (Franklin Av-Medgar Evers College/Botanic Garden, Kingston Av, President St-Medgar Evers College), with a median listing price of $1.3M. Crown Heights scores a middle-of-the-road 5.9—solid transit and financial fundamentals offset weaker commute times and cultural density for pragmatic buyers.
6What is it like to live in Crown Heights?
Crown Heights's scores are medians across 103 for-sale listings scored by DwellScore on six dimensions: practical (unit features of the listings: in-unit laundry, bedrooms, bathrooms and building age), commute, ART/livability, outdoor, financial and investment. Its composite is 5.9/10. Crown Heights scores a middle-of-the-road 5.9—solid transit and financial fundamentals offset weaker commute times and cultural density for pragmatic buyers. For the block-by-block view, run any specific Crown Heights address through DwellCheck.
7Is Crown Heights expensive?
Median listing price in Crown Heights, Brooklyn is $1.3M based on 103 active listings as of 2026-04-04. Whether that reads "expensive" depends on the comparison and varies considerably by building. That median is a sale price, not a rent. For rents, the city's 2023 Housing and Vacancy Survey put the citywide median at $1,500 a month for rent-stabilized apartments and $2,000 for market-rate rentals (NYC HPD, 2023 NYCHVS Selected Initial Findings, Table 6); it publishes no neighborhood breakdown, so check DHCR rent history for any specific address.
8Where is Crown Heights?
Crown Heights is in Brooklyn, New York City. DwellCheck maps it to the Crown Heights (North) and Crown Heights (South) Neighborhood Tabulation Areas (BK0802, BK0901), which fall in the Census tabulation area that approximates Brooklyn Community District 8 (Crown Heights (North)) and the Census tabulation area that approximates Brooklyn Community District 9 (Crown Heights (South)). Its main ZIP codes are 11213, 11225, 11216 and 11238. Subway stations in the neighborhood include Franklin Av-Medgar Evers College/Botanic Garden, Kingston Av and President St-Medgar Evers College.
9What ZIP code is Crown Heights in?
Crown Heights spans ZIP codes 11213 (44% of residential units), 11225 (21%), 11216 (19%) and 11238 (11%). Shares are of the 59,513 residential units in the Crown Heights (North) and Crown Heights (South) Neighborhood Tabulation Areas (BK0802, BK0901), from NYC PLUTO 26v2 tax-lot records. 3 other ZIP codes each hold under 5%.
10Can you walk around Crown Heights at night?
Crown Heights is classified as "Much Higher Than Average" by NYPD complaint data. Over the past 12 months it recorded 22 shooting incidents and 9,905 total crime incidents. Walking at night carries the same risk profile as anywhere in NYC: stay on commercial corridors with foot traffic, avoid empty side streets after midnight, and prefer subway lines that run 24/7.
11Is Crown Heights dangerous?
By NYPD data, Crown Heights is rated "Much Higher Than Average", with a lower crime rate per resident than 22% of Brooklyn neighborhoods. 9,905 crime incidents over 12 months. Block-level risk varies; check the address-level safety score for any specific street or building.
12What parts of Crown Heights should I avoid?
NYPD complaint records carry approximate incident coordinates, but a neighborhood total can't tell you which blocks drive it, so we don't publish an "avoid this street" list. For a specific block, use DwellCheck's address-level safety score, which counts NYPD crime complaints within a 300m radius of the building over the latest 12 months of published data and compares that count with the borough average.
13Is Crown Heights a good place to live?
Crown Heights scores 5.9/10 for overall livability and has a lower crime rate per resident than 22% of Brooklyn neighborhoods. Crown Heights scores a middle-of-the-road 5.9—solid transit and financial fundamentals offset weaker commute times and cultural density for pragmatic buyers. Whether it's a good fit depends on what you weight: families, solo renters, and remote workers each prioritize different factors (noise, transit access, parks, building quality).
14What is the average DwellScore in Crown Heights?
Median composite score is 5.9 (interquartile range 5.0–6.8). Practical (6.6) and commute (6.4) scores drive the middle-tier ranking; livability (5.3) and outdoor access (5.6) lag.
15How does Crown Heights compare to Brooklyn overall?
Financial (6.4 vs. 5.7), Investment (6.3 vs. 5.8), and Outdoor (5.6 vs. 4.6) scores exceed borough medians. Commute (6.4 vs. 8.0) and ART/Livability (5.3 vs. 5.0) underperform.
16What are median prices and market velocity?
Median price is $1,299,000 at $1,109/sqft. Properties average 89 days on market; year-over-year appreciation data is unavailable. Condos dominate at 79% of listings.
17How walkable is Crown Heights?
Seven subway lines serve the neighborhood, but commute score of 6.4 reflects longer trips to major job centers. Tree density (172 trees per 200m) supports pedestrian comfort.
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