What is the crime and mixture of community in Austin Texas like?

I grew up in Austin as well as went to college there. It has definitely changed over the years as it has continued to expand. With any big city you get some crime.

However, Austin has never felt particularly unsafe to me. There are areas to be careful in or to avoid at certain times of day. East Austin (east of I-35) has typically been the lower income area of Austin as well as most of the communities lining the interstate. You do hear of crime and minor 'gang' activity in deep East Austin. But, even this area is beginning to flip....with the artist community moving in and buying houses as well as art studios. Lofts are springing up everywhere.

I have heard that the area around I-35 at Highland mall is a big drug area and is a bit sketchy.

The downtown, 6th street area can be sketchy late at night.

Other than these highlighted areas...Austin feels very safe. I take a lot of night time walks and have never had my house or car broken into. A bigger concern is bike theft...which can be bad.

Austin is like any city in that you should be smart and aware of your surroundings. But, overall is very safe.

Hope this helps!

-Kango Traveler

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Race
One race 636912 97.01%
White 429100 65.36%
Black or African American 65956 10.05%
American Indian and Alaska Native 3889 0.59%
Asian 30960 4.72%
Asian indian 7749 1.18%
Chinese 8093 1.23%
Filipino 1582 0.24%
Japanese 1164 0.18%
Korean 3441 0.52%
Vietnamese 5942 0.91%
Other Asian 2989 0.46%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 469 0.07%
Native Hawaiian 182 0.03%
Guamanian or Chamorro 95 0.01%
Samoan 69 0.01%
Other Pacific Islander 123 0.02%
Some other race 106538 16.23%
Two or more races

frime all per 100000

murder 2.8
rape 44.9
robberies 191.3
Assaults 276.3
Burglaries 1052.0
Thefts 4446.5
4446.5 2,544
Arson 12.4


City-data.com crime index
(higher means more crime,
U.S. average = 323.2)

The Rundberg/I-35 area is bad. East Austin is mostly Hispanic and Black. Parts of Ben White and South First street can be dangerous. It's the perfect place for a predator. You have alot of students and young people with money. I didn't like it but a lot of people do. Like anywhere nowadays, be careful.