Atlanta

Is Atlanta safe?

For a visitor, mostly yes, but it has more violent crime than most US cities we cover. The Atlanta Police Department (APD) counted 98 homicides in 2025, down from 126 a year earlier, according to the Major Cities Chiefs Association. With about 526,000 people, that is about 19 per 100,000: close to Washington, DC, above Chicago and almost twice Nashville. The FBI puts Atlanta's violent crime rate at 736 per 100,000, more than twice the national rate.

Killings kept falling in 2026, with 74 to late October against 78 a year before in APD's open data. Aggravated assaults went the other way, up 24% in the first half of the year. Killings are spread across residential neighbourhoods west and south of the centre, such as Washington Park, Sylvan Hills, West End and English Avenue, which have no sights. Downtown is the exception, as the next sections show. We score Atlanta 61.

Car break-ins in Downtown and Midtown

The crime a visitor is most likely to meet is a smashed car window. APD's open data list about 6,060 thefts from cars in 2025, and the two neighbourhoods with the most were the ones visitors use: Downtown with 770 and Midtown with 602. Marietta Street Artery, Inman Park and Castleberry Hill follow. The FBI's figures give Atlanta 3,119 property crimes per 100,000 people in 2025, twice the US average.

There is good news here. Car break-ins to late October 2026 were down by more than a third on the same period of 2025, and car thefts by almost a quarter. Treat these as rough figures: about 10,000 of APD's 2025 records carry no offence type, so the 2025 counts are a minimum.

• Leave nothing in sight in a car, including bags, jackets and charging cables. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary warns not to leave passports in rental cars, even in the boot.
• Use a staffed hotel or event garage rather than street parking near the stadium or the Beltline.
• Pickpocketing is rare in Atlanta: APD logged 24 cases in 2025. A bag left in a car is the bigger risk.

Is downtown Atlanta safe at night?

On event nights it is crowded and well policed. On quiet nights the office blocks empty out, and the numbers show why some care makes sense. Downtown had 4 of the city's 97 homicides in APD's 2025 data, plus 179 aggravated assaults and 57 robberies, more than any other neighbourhood. Midtown came next, with 91 assaults and 33 robberies.

Gallup's 2025 survey found that 71% of Americans feel safe walking alone at night where they live, and only 58% of women. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary's advice for the US fits Atlanta: violent crime rarely affects tourists, but try not to walk through quieter areas alone, especially at night. Midtown, Virginia Highland, Inman Park and Buckhead Village are fine for an evening out. After a late game or concert downtown, walk out with the crowd and book a ride from a busy street.

Roads, air and storms

Atlanta's roads kill more people than the national average. NHTSA's crash records (FARS) count 56 traffic deaths inside the city in 2024, about 10.6 per 100,000, and 84 in 2023, a rate of about 16. Pedestrians were 25 of the 56 dead in 2024, almost half. Another 21 died on the interstates that run through the city. I-75 and I-20 had the most deaths of any roads in the city over 2023 and 2024. If you walk, cross at signals, and do not try to cross multi-lane roads between junctions at night.

The air is close to the US limit. The EPA monitor at a fire station on Marietta Boulevard averaged 9.2 µg/m³ of fine particlesPM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary over 2023 to 2025, just above the federal standard of 9 and well above the WHO guideline. Medical care is good but expensive, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary notes that some hospitals ask visitors for a deposit on admission.

Severe thunderstorms are the hazard to plan for. On 14 March 2008 an EF-2 tornado with winds of about 130 mph crossed downtown during a college basketball game at the Georgia Dome, killing one person and injuring at least 30, according to the National Weather Service. Had the game not gone into overtime, the weather service later said, thousands of fans would have been in the streets. Summer is hot and humid: the airport reached 95°F on 14 to 24 days a year in 2023 to 2025, and touched 100°F in 2024 and 2025 (NOAA).

How to stay safe in Atlanta

• Stay in Midtown or Buckhead, or downtown close to your event, and use ride apps between neighbourhoods at night.
• Treat your rental car as a target: empty it every time you park.
• On foot, cross only at signals on multi-lane roads.
• In spring, turn on emergency alerts and know where the interior room of your hotel is.
• Buy travel insurance with full medical cover.

For healthcare costs and entry rules, see our United States page.

How we scored it

Violent crime (50) is the weakest factor: even after a fall in 2025, the homicide rateHomicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary sits in the upper half of the 10 to 25 per 100,000 band, and assaults are rising. Traffic safety (47) is held down by a death rate above 10 per 100,000. Health and environment (82) and natural hazards (72) are the strongest factors. Theft (61) reflects car break-ins, which APD's open data show falling in 2026.