Is St. George Safe? Staten Island Livability, Crime & Rent
St. George scores 6.3 median: a dense, tree-filled waterfront neighborhood with strong walkability hampered by high crime and noise activity.
St. George at a glance
- Borough
- Staten Island
- Livability score
- 6.3/10
- Borough rank
- #4 of 15
- Safety verdict
- High Activity Area
- Crimes (12 mo)
- 2,864
- Median listing
- $0
- Subway stations
- 1 (St George)
- Active listings
- 87
- Data updated
- 2026-04-05
Is St. George Safe?
St. George, Staten Island scores 6.3/10 for overall livability, ranking #4 of 15 Staten Island neighborhoods. St. George scores 6.3 median: a dense, tree-filled waterfront neighborhood with strong walkability hampered by high crime and noise activity.
This score aggregates live NYPD crime data, 311 safety complaints, shooting incidents, and building health signals within walking distance. 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.
Neighborhood Character
St. George is Staten Island's oldest and most transit-connected neighborhood, anchored by the St. George ferry terminal and a dense canopy of 105 trees per 200 meters. You'll find a gritty waterfront district with Manhattan views, pockets of arts activity, and genuine neighborhood density—48% walk-ups mixed with mid-rise buildings create a working-class urban texture that feels lived-in rather than polished. Five parks sit within walking distance (averaging 166 meters away), including the North Shore Esplanade and Jones Woods Park, though the neighborhood contends with high noise and crime activity that shapes the street-level reality.
Analysis based on 87 properties scored across 30+ data points
Livability & Restoration
Tree Canopy
105 trees
Avg within 200m | Density: 9.5/10
10 additional trees per block correlates with health benefits equivalent to being 7 years younger (Kardan et al., 2015)
Park Access
Jones Woods Park
Avg 166m away | Score: 3.2/10
Living within 300m of green space associated with 30% fewer antidepressant prescriptions (Taylor et al., 2015)
Acoustic Quality
7/10
Noise proxy score (higher = quieter)
Chronic noise above 55 dB at night associated with 8% cardiovascular mortality increase (Basner et al., 2014)
Street Character
0/10
Enclosure: 0/10
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.
We compute an ART score for every block by combining four signals: access to restorative zones (parks, museums, libraries), sensory load (nightlife and tourist density), street vitality (Jane Jacobs’ “eyes on the street”), and third places (Oldenburg’s informal community spaces).
Meaningfully more restorative than the Staten Island average — expect lower sensory load and better access to restorative zones than most of the borough.
What drives the score
- +Restorative zones. Museums, libraries, community gardens, and parks within walking distance. “Soft fascination” stimuli (clouds, tree branches, water) let directed attention recover without effort — the Kaplans’ core mechanism.
- −Sensory load. Bar and nightclub density (5+ within 150m), firehouse siren corridors, tourist chokepoints, and very high foot traffic push the score down by up to 8 points.
- +Street vitality (Jacobs, 1961). Permitted block parties, farmers markets, and community festivals over the past 12 months — a proxy for “eyes on the street” and the informal surveillance that makes blocks feel safe and maintained.
- +Third places (Oldenburg, 1989). Cafés, public plazas (POPS), community centers — the “anchors of community life” that buffer against social isolation. Loneliness has been linked to 29% higher incident coronary heart disease risk (Valtorta et al., 2016).
Health mechanism. Directed-attention fatigue (DAF) is linked to impaired decision-making, irritability, and elevated cortisol. A meta-analysis of 60+ studies (Ohly et al., 2016) found restorative environment exposure significantly improves attention-task performance (Hedges’ g ≈ 0.32) and reduces negative affect.
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: 2.5/10
Walk Score Proxy
0/10
Based on street geometry analysis
Financial Landscape
Median Price
$0
Price per Sq Ft
$0
Price Distribution
Price by Building Type
Investment Indicators
Avg Unused FAR
0 sqft
Development rights potential
Unused development rights valued at $30-$80/sqft in Brooklyn (Glaeser, 2011)
Avg Days on Market
0
Market velocity signal
Multi-Family Stock
0%
2-4 family buildings
Multi-family owner-occupants build 2.4x wealth vs single-family (Herbert, 2013)
Outdoor & Green Space
Avg Tree Count
105
Within 200m radius
Canopy Density
9.5/10
Normalized canopy coverage
Park Network
- Jones Woods Park
- Mahoney Playground
- Cottages Hill New Brighton Park
- North Shore Esplanade
- Lt. Lia Playground
Avg distance: 166m
Practical Living
Building Types
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
People prioritizing walkability and services
Practical score of 9/10 indicates dense retail, food, and daily-need infrastructure concentrated here
Nature-access seekers with noise tolerance
High tree canopy (9.5/10 density) and 5 nearby parks offset by very high noise complaints (1,797 in 12 months)
Pros & Cons
Strengths
Exceptional tree canopy and park access
105 trees average within 200m with 9.5/10 canopy density; 5 parks within 166m average distance
Walkable neighborhood services
Direct Manhattan transit connection
St. George terminal provides SIR ferry access without subway dependency
Diverse building stock with density
48% walk-ups, 37% mid-rise, 15% high-rise mix creates varied housing and street presence
Trade-offs
High-activity crime environment
2,158 crimes in 12 months; percentile 10% in borough; crime trend worsening at +191.2%
Severe noise complaints
1,797 noise complaints in 12 months—classified as 'Very High' relative to borough
Limited commute convenience
Commute score of 3/10 reflects ferry-only transit and distance to Manhattan job centers
Weak investment signals
Investment score of 5/10 at borough median; financial score also 5/10
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" — safer than 0% of Staten Island neighborhoods. 2,864 crime incidents and 2 shooting incidents 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. The median listing price is $0. Use DwellCheck to research specific addresses.
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 #4 of 15 Staten Island neighborhoods on DwellCheck's livability score (6.3/10). It's served by 1 subway station (St George), with a median listing price of $0. St. George scores 6.3 median: a dense, tree-filled waterfront neighborhood with strong walkability hampered by high crime and noise activity.
6What is it like to live in St. George?
Living in St. George, Staten Island weights against six livability dimensions: practical (HPD-violation density), commute (subway proximity), arts/culture (venue density), outdoor (parks + trees), financial (price level), investment (price trend). St. George's composite is 6.3/10. St. George scores 6.3 median: a dense, tree-filled waterfront neighborhood with strong walkability hampered by high crime and noise activity. For the block-by-block view, run any specific St. George address through DwellCheck.
7Is St. George expensive?
Median listing price in St. George, Staten Island is $0 based on 87 active listings as of 2026-04-05. Whether that reads "expensive" depends on the comparison: it's lower than Manhattan averages and varies considerably by building. Rent-stabilized units in St. George can run 20-40% below the median; check DHCR rent history for any specific address to verify.
8Can you walk around St. George at night?
St. George is classified as "High Activity Area" by NYPD CompStat data. Over the past 12 months it recorded 2 shooting incidents and 2,864 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.
9Is St. George dangerous?
By NYPD data, St. George is rated "High Activity Area" — safer than 0% of Staten Island neighborhoods. 2,864 crime incidents over 12 months. Block-level risk varies; check the address-level safety score for any specific street or building.
10What parts of St. George should I avoid?
NYPD CompStat reports incidents at the precinct level, not block-by-block, so a granular "avoid this street" answer isn't possible from public data alone. The most reliable signal at the block level is DwellCheck's address-level safety score, which weights NYPD incidents within a 250m radius of a specific building. As a general rule across NYC: industrial blocks with no foot traffic are higher-risk than residential blocks; subway-station-adjacent commercial corridors are lowest-risk.
11Is St. George a good place to live?
St. George scores 6.3/10 for overall livability and ranks in the 0th percentile for safety in Staten Island. St. George scores 6.3 median: a dense, tree-filled waterfront neighborhood with strong walkability 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).
12What is the average DwellScore in St. George?
The median composite score is 6.3 (interquartile range 5.9–6.7). Practical livability drives the score upward at 9/10, while commute (3/10) and safety pull it down significantly.
13Is St. George safe?
No. With 2,158 crimes in the past 12 months and a crime trend worsening by 191.2%, St. George ranks in the bottom 10% of Staten Island neighborhoods for safety. High noise complaints (1,797) compound quality-of-life concerns.
14How 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. This is the island's best transit access, but still constrained by geography.
15What's the outdoor environment like?
Strong: 105 trees per 200m with 9.5/10 canopy density, plus 5 parks within 166m average distance. However, high noise activity (1,797 complaints) affects the quality of outdoor time.
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