Vancouver neighbourhood scores
Living in Downtown, Vancouver
Downtown grades C overall (63/100), #22 of 22 residential areas in and around Vancouver. Its strongest categories are shops & food, transit and health care; its weakest are road safety and quiet streets.
Downtown has about 1,809 home addresses across 4.7 km². Out of 22 residential areas, Downtown ranks #22 for families, #22 for seniors and #16 for commuters. It grades A for parks, shops & food, transit, health care, flood risk.
Explore Downtown on the mapGrades by category
| Category | Grade | What we measured |
|---|---|---|
| Crime | E (17) | Police-reported incidents per 1,000 residents per year: violent crime, break-ins, thefts and mischief (collisions are in Road safety) |
| Schools | B (77) | Homes within 1 km of a public elementary school and 2 km of a public middle/secondary school |
| Kids at home | E (0) | Share of households that are families with children at home (2021 Census). Used in the Families score only |
| Road safety | E (0) | ICBC-reported crashes per km² per year, 2021–2025 |
| Parks | A (96) | Homes within 400 m of a park, plus 500 m of a playground |
| Childcare | C (64) | Homes within 800 m of a licensed group centre or preschool, and 1 km of care for under-3s (home daycares alone don’t count) |
| Quiet streets | E (0) | How close homes are to traffic: right beside a highway counts most, fading out by 300 m; arterial roads fade out by 150 m and collector roads by 100 m (OpenStreetMap road types) |
| Shops & food | A (100) | Homes within 1 km of a grocery store or pharmacy, and 800 m of a café or restaurant |
| Transit | A (100) | Homes within 400 m of a bus stop, and of a stop with 40+ weekday departures |
| Health care | A (100) | Homes within 1.5 km of a walk-in clinic or hospital, and 1 km of a pharmacy |
| Commute time | B (73) | Workers with a commute under 15 minutes, less a penalty for commutes of an hour or more (2021 Census) |
| Highway access | D (38) | Average straight-line distance from homes to the nearest Highway 1 or 99 interchange |
| Flood risk | A (92) | Share of homes outside the City's designated floodplain |
Who lives here
About 69,940 people live in Downtown (2021 Census), with a median age of 39.4 (city: 41.1). 38.9% of households own their home and 61% rent. 13.2% of households are families with children at home, 6.9% of residents are under 15 and 12.9% are 65 or older. 0% of homes are houses and 98% are apartments.
Schools
85.4% of homes are within 1 km of a public elementary school, and 61.8% are within 2 km of a public middle or secondary school. Across Vancouver School Board (School District 39), 93.4% of students graduate within six years of starting Grade 8 (BC: 92.5%, 2024/2025); the Province doesn't publish this for single schools.
| School | Beats % of BC schools | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Elsie Roy Elementary elementary | 69 | FSA reading beats 70% of BC schools; FSA math beats 67% |
| šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət Crosstown Elementary elementary | 45 | FSA reading beats 54% of BC schools; FSA math beats 36% |
| Pattison High School independent secondary | – | Too few students to publish |
| Alexander Academy independent secondary | – | Too few students to publish |
| Columbia Academy independent secondary | – | Too few students to publish |
| Lowell High School independent secondary | – | Too few students to publish |
| Franklin School independent secondary | – | Too few students to publish |
Provincial test results (FSA 2023/2024–2025/2026, graduation assessments 2022/2023–2024/2025) compared with every BC school. They don't count toward any grade, because scores follow family income closely. How we work these out.
Parks
25 city parks covering 31.6 hectares. 99.4% of homes are within a five-minute walk (400 m) of a park.
Transit
168 bus stops with 37,580 weekday departures on routes 023, 250, 253, 254, N10, N17, N9, N15, N19, N20, N24, 002, 003, 004, 006, 016, 020, 044, R5, 005, 007, 010, 014, 017, 019, 022, 050, 209, 210, 211, 214, , 241, 246, 247, 257, N35, N8, 240, N22, WCE, 008. 99.9% of homes are within 400 m of a stop.
Flood risk
8.3% of homes sit in the City's designated floodplain, according to the City of Vancouver floodplain map.
Road safety
ICBC recorded 15,363 crashes inside Downtown from 2021 to 2025, 4,064 of them with injuries or deaths.
Crime
The Vancouver Police Department recorded 53,621 incidents in Downtown from 2021–2025, about 153.3 per 1,000 residents a year (18.9 of them violent). Crime grades E. The VPD cautions people not to rely on its data to judge the safety of a specific location or area.
Common questions about Downtown
Is Downtown a good place to live?
Downtown grades C overall (63/100), #22 of 22 residential areas in and around Vancouver. Its strongest categories are shops & food, transit and health care; its weakest are road safety and quiet streets. For families it ranks #22, for seniors #22 and for commuters #16. Grades come from public data only, never from reviews or opinion.
How much crime is there in Downtown?
The Vancouver Police Department recorded about 153.3 incidents per 1,000 residents a year in Downtown from 2021–2025, 18.9 of them violent. Crime grades E.
Is Downtown in a flood zone?
8.3% of homes in Downtown sit in the City's designated floodplain (City of Vancouver floodplain map). It grades A for flood risk.
What schools are in Downtown?
Public schools inside the boundary: Elsie Roy Elementary, šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət Crosstown Elementary, Pattison High School, Alexander Academy, Columbia Academy, Lowell High School, Franklin School. 85.4% of homes are within 1 km of an elementary school. Check catchments with Vancouver School Board (School District 39).
Are the schools in Downtown good?
On provincial tests, Elsie Roy Elementary beats 69% of BC schools and šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət Crosstown Elementary beats 45% of BC schools (FSA 2023/2024–2025/2026, graduation assessments 2022/2023–2024/2025). SD39 graduates 93.4% of students within six years (BC 92.5%). Test scores follow family income closely, so visit and talk to the school too.
How many people live in Downtown?
About 69,940 people (2021 Census), with a median age of 39.4. 38.9% of households own their home.
Is there good transit in Downtown?
99.9% of homes are within 400 m of a bus stop; 168 stops get 37,580 TransLink departures on a weekday. Transit grades A.
Compare Vancouver neighbourhoods
Best overall · Best for families with young kids · Best for seniors and retirees · Best for commuters
- South Cambie B · 75
- Arbutus Ridge B · 74
- Riley Park B · 74
- Kensington-Cedar Cottage B · 74
- Killarney B · 73
- Hastings-Sunrise B · 73
- Sunset B · 72
- Kerrisdale B · 72
- Victoria-Fraserview B · 72
- Renfrew-Collingwood B · 72
- Kitsilano B · 72
- Marpole B · 72
- Grandview-Woodland B · 71
- West Point Grey B · 71
- Oakridge B · 71
- Dunbar-Southlands B · 71
- Shaughnessy B · 70
- Mount Pleasant B · 70
- Fairview B · 67
- Strathcona B · 66
- West End B · 66
Data last built 2026-11-04. How these grades are calculated