Why we do not publish a ranked list
Fair housing rules and plain accuracy both argue against labeling whole neighborhoods as safe or unsafe. Crime data is collected by incident location, not by the neighborhood names people use in listings, and it depends on who reports what. A single commercial corridor, a stadium or a busy shopping center can raise the count for an area without saying much about the residential streets around it.
Many online rankings also combine data from different agencies and years. Since the national move to the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), agencies record every offense in an incident, while the older summary system counted only the most serious one under the "hierarchy rule." That change alone can make recent numbers look higher than older ones. The FBI itself said in 2023 that incomplete agency participation limited what it could say about national trends.
So instead of a list, use the official tools below for the addresses on your shortlist.
First, find out which agency covers the address
Crime data is published by the agency that responds, so start by confirming the jurisdiction on the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser record:
- City of Tampa addresses, including South Tampa, Seminole Heights and New Tampa, are served by the Tampa Police Department.
- Unincorporated Hillsborough County, including Town 'n' Country, Westchase, Carrollwood and Valrico, is served by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
- Temple Terrace is a separate city with its own services.
- Pasco County addresses in parts of Lutz and Odessa are outside Hillsborough entirely.
Tampa Police Department data tools
The Tampa Police Department's crime data page links to several public tools:
- Police calls for service: a list of calls for the past week.
- Calls for service map: shows where calls occurred. TPD notes that specific addresses are slightly modified to protect victims, so treat points as approximate.
- Traffic concerns: crashes and traffic issues.
- Hate crime statistics and unsolved homicides pages.
Calls for service are not the same as confirmed crimes. A call can be a false alarm, a traffic matter or a request for help. They are still useful for seeing what kind of activity happens on a street, and how often.
When you read the map, note the call type and time as well as the location. A cluster of traffic calls on a main road next to a subdivision tells you something different from repeated calls on the residential street itself.
FDLE sexual offender and predator search
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement runs a public registry search that includes a neighborhood search by address, with a radius from a quarter mile to 5 miles. FDLE notes that it compiles but does not independently confirm the information, and that identification cannot be positively established without fingerprints. It is illegal to use registry information to commit a crime.
How to compare two addresses fairly
- Use the same source and the same period for both addresses. Do not compare a Tampa Police map with a sheriff's report or a national website.
- Look at type, not only volume. Separate property crime, traffic incidents and violent incidents, and note whether activity clusters around a shopping center or major road.
- Check a small radius. A quarter mile around the home tells you more than a neighborhood total.
- Look over several periods. The TPD list covers only the past week, so check it more than once before you decide.
- Visit at different times. Walk the street on a weekday evening and a weekend.
- Ask the police non-emergency line or district office if you have questions about a specific location.
Other things that affect how a street feels
Many buyers asking about safety are also asking about traffic, lighting and hazards. Check the flood zone and the 2026 evacuation zone for the address with the tools in our Tampa flood zone guide, note street lighting and sidewalks, and look at traffic crash data on the TPD traffic tool. For gated communities, ask how gates are staffed and funded; see the Tampa gated communities guide. Our Tampa neighborhoods guide compares areas by homes and costs.
Common questions
What is the safest neighborhood in Tampa?+
There is no official ranking, and lists online often mix data from different agencies, years and reporting systems. The more reliable approach is to check the addresses you are considering using the Tampa Police Department's calls-for-service tools, or the sheriff's office for unincorporated areas, over the same period, and to visit at different times of day.
Where can I find Tampa crime data?+
The Tampa Police Department's crime data page links to a list of police calls for service for the past week, a map of where calls occurred with addresses slightly modified to protect victims, traffic concerns, hate crime statistics and unsolved homicides. For unincorporated Hillsborough County, contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
Why do crime numbers look higher in recent years?+
Part of the reason can be reporting, not crime. Under the FBI's NIBRS system, agencies record every offense in an incident, while the older summary system counted only the most serious offense. Participation gaps also affect national figures, so compare the same agency's data over the same periods rather than mixing sources.
How do I check registered offenders near a Tampa home?+
Use the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's sexual offender and predator search. Its neighborhood search takes an address and a radius from a quarter mile to 5 miles. FDLE notes that it does not independently confirm the information and that positive identification requires a fingerprint comparison.
Sources
- Tampa Police Department: Crime data
- Tampa Police Department: Police calls for service
- FDLE: Sexual offender and predator search
- Wikipedia: National Incident-Based Reporting System
- Wikipedia: Town 'n' Country, Florida
- Wikipedia: Lutz, Florida
- FOX 13 Tampa Bay: Hillsborough County adjusts hurricane evacuation zones (April 2026)