Is St. George Safe? Staten Island Livability, Crime & Rent
St. George scores 4.9 median: a dense waterfront neighborhood with parks close by, hampered by high crime and noise activity.
St. George at a glance
- Borough
- Staten Island
- Livability score
- 4.9/10
- Borough rank (NYC Open Data guides)
- #14 of 15
- Safety verdict
- High Activity Area
- Crimes (12 mo)
- 2,463
- ZIP codes
- 10301 (100%)Share of residential units, NYC PLUTO 26v2
- Subway stations
- 1 (St George)
- Data updated
- 2026-09-14
Is St. George Safe?
St. George, Staten Island scores 4.9/10 for overall livability, ranking #14 of 15 Staten Island neighborhoods scored from NYC Open Data. St. George scores 4.9 median: a dense waterfront neighborhood with parks close by, hampered by high crime and noise activity.
The livability score draws on HPD housing violations, subway access, NYC Parks' tree inventory and parks, and 311 noise complaints per resident from NYC Open Data, refreshed periodically rather than live. It does not include crime; NYPD complaint and shooting figures are on the St. George safety page. Safety varies by block — check a specific St. George address below for a block-level breakdown.
Score Overview
Vertical line = borough median. Scale: 0-10.
Practical measures HPD housing violations per residential lot over the last 12 months (higher = fewer violations). Borough medians are computed across DwellCheck's Staten Island neighborhood guides.
Neighborhood Character
St. George is Staten Island's oldest neighborhood, anchored by the St. George ferry terminal, with 137 trees per 200 meters. You'll find a gritty waterfront district with Manhattan views, pockets of arts activity, and a housing mix of one-family (44% of residential tax lots) and two-family (38%) houses with walk-up apartment buildings (11%) that feels lived-in rather than polished. Parks sit within walking distance (the 3 nearest parks average 166 meters from the neighborhood's center), including the North Shore Esplanade and Jones Woods Park, though the neighborhood contends with moderate noise and crime activity that shapes the street-level reality.
Livability & Restoration
Trees
137 trees
Expected in a 200m circle (NYC Parks tree inventory) | Density: 3/10 (city percentile)
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
11 parks
NYC Parks properties inside the neighborhood | largest: Jones Woods Park | nearest to the center: Davis Playground, 21m | 3 nearest average 166m from the neighborhood's center
Acoustic Quality
3/10
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).
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 comes from neighborhood-wide data: up to 5 points from tree density (a city percentile) and up to 5 from how few 311 noise complaints there are per resident. 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 Staten Island 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
3/10
Borough median: 4/10
Outdoor & Green Space
Avg Tree Count
137
Trees expected in a 200m circle
Tree Density
3/10
1,090 trees per km² in NYC Parks' tree inventory (street and park trees); city percentile, 1 = sparsest
Largest Parks In or Near the Neighborhood
- Jones Woods Park
- Mahoney Playground
- Cottages Hill New Brighton Park
- North Shore Esplanade
- Lt. Lia Playground
Nearest to the neighborhood's center: Davis Playground, about 21m. The 3 nearest NYC Parks properties average 166m from the center (approximate park centers, not entrances).
Practical Living
Practical (HPD violations): 7/10 (Staten Island median 9). It measures HPD housing violations per residential lot over the last 12 months (higher = fewer violations).
Building Mix (Residential Tax Lots)
Share of the 2,437 residential tax lots in the neighborhood by PLUTO building class (NYC Department of City Planning).
Who St. George Is For
Transit-dependent commuters
Direct SIR ferry access to Lower Manhattan, though commute score is 3/10—reflect the real constraints of island geography rather than convenience
Nature-access seekers with noise tolerance
Five nearby parks and below-median tree density (3.0/10), offset by moderate noise complaints (1,874 in 12 months)
Pros & Cons
Strengths
Park access
the 3 nearest parks average 166m from the neighborhood's center; 137 trees within 200m (3.0/10 tree density)
Direct Manhattan transit connection
St. George terminal provides SIR ferry access without subway dependency
Diverse building stock with density
One-family (44% of residential tax lots) and two-family (38%) houses with walk-up apartment buildings (11%) create varied housing
Trade-offs
High-activity crime environment
2,463 crimes in 12 months; the second-highest crime rate per resident of the Staten Island neighborhoods we track; crime fell 17.7%
Noise complaints
1,874 noise complaints in 12 months, a moderate rate per resident
Limited commute convenience
Commute score of 3/10 reflects ferry-only transit and distance to Manhattan job centers
Score Any Address in St. George
Get detailed livability scores based on building health, transit access, safety, noise levels, and 15+ NYC data sources.
Search an Address in St. GeorgeFrequently Asked Questions about St. George
1Is St. George safe?
By NYPD data, St. George is rated "High Activity Area", with a lower crime rate per resident than 8% of Staten Island neighborhoods. 2,463 crime incidents and 1 shooting incident over the past 12 months. See the safety page for the full breakdown.
2What is the average rent in St. George?
Rents in St. George, Staten Island vary significantly by building and apartment type. Market pricing isn't aggregated for this neighborhood yet; use DwellCheck to research specific addresses for HPD registration, HPD violations, and other building-level records. DwellCheck doesn't show rent-stabilization status; request the apartment's rent history from DHCR for that.
3How is transit access in St. George?
St. George has a commute score of 3/10. 1 subway stations serve the area: St George.
4What are the best streets in St. George?
The best streets depend on your priorities. Use DwellCheck to compare specific addresses across livability, safety, transit, and environmental factors.
5What is St. George known for?
St. George sits in Staten Island and ranks #14 of 15 Staten Island neighborhoods scored from NYC Open Data on DwellCheck's livability score (4.9/10). It's served by 1 subway station (St George). St. George scores 4.9 median: a dense waterfront neighborhood with parks close by, hampered by high crime and noise activity.
6What is it like to live in St. George?
DwellCheck scores St. George, Staten Island from NYC Open Data on practical (HPD housing violations per residential lot over the last 12 months (higher = fewer violations)), commute (subway stations and lines in the neighborhood), ART (tree density and 311 noise complaints per resident), outdoor (trees and park proximity). St. George's composite is 4.9/10. St. George scores 4.9 median: a dense waterfront neighborhood with parks close by, hampered by high crime and noise activity. For the block-by-block view, run any specific St. George address through DwellCheck.
7Where is St. George?
St. George is in Staten Island, New York City. DwellCheck maps it to the St. George-New Brighton Neighborhood Tabulation Area (SI0101), which falls in the Census tabulation area that matches Staten Island Community District 1 (North Shore). Its main ZIP code is 10301. Subway stations in the neighborhood include St George.
8What ZIP code is St. George in?
St. George is in ZIP code 10301 (100% of residential units). Shares are of the 8,304 residential units in the St. George-New Brighton Neighborhood Tabulation Area (SI0101), from NYC PLUTO 26v2 tax-lot records.
9Can you walk around St. George at night?
St. George is classified as "High Activity Area" by NYPD complaint data. Over the past 12 months it recorded 1 shooting incident and 2,463 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.
10Is St. George dangerous?
By NYPD data, St. George is rated "High Activity Area", with a lower crime rate per resident than 8% of Staten Island neighborhoods. 2,463 crime incidents over 12 months. Block-level risk varies; check the address-level safety score for any specific street or building.
11What parts of St. George 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.
12Is St. George a good place to live?
St. George scores 4.9/10 for overall livability and has a lower crime rate per resident than 8% of Staten Island neighborhoods. St. George scores 4.9 median: a dense waterfront neighborhood with parks close by, hampered by high crime and noise activity. 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).
13What is the average DwellScore in St. George?
The composite score is 4.9. Practical (7/10) is its strongest dimension, while commute (3/10) pulls it down significantly.
14Is St. George safe?
No. With 2,463 crimes in the past 12 months, St. George has the second-highest crime rate per resident of the Staten Island neighborhoods we track; crime fell 17.7%. Moderate noise complaints (1,874) compound quality-of-life concerns.
15How accessible is public transit from here?
You have the St. George SIR terminal for ferry access to Lower Manhattan, but the commute score of 3/10 reflects limited subway options and ferry-dependent travel.
16What's the outdoor environment like?
Strong on parks: the 3 nearest parks average 166m from the neighborhood's center, part of an outdoor score of 6.7, with 137 trees per 200m (3.0/10 tree density). However, moderate noise activity (1,874 complaints) affects the quality of outdoor time.
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