Introduction: As obesity rates rise, it is increasingly important to understand obesity-related health behaviors, including physical activity (PA). Less is known about the role of perceived neighborhood environment, particularly perceptions of crime and violence, in preventing PA. Hypothesis: Unfavorable neighborhood perception is associated with lower PA levels, and may be moderated by socioeconomic status (SES). Methods: Within the multiracial, socioeconomically diverse HANDLS cohort, we examined the association between self-reported neighborhood perception (Likert-scale questions) and physical activity (Baecke PA questionnaire). Factor analysis identified key neighborhood characteristics to develop a total neighborhood perception score (NPS), which was divided into quintiles for analysis. Higher NPS indicated less favorable neighborhood perception. Linear regression was used to determine the relationship between total NPS, factor scores, and PA. Results: In Wave 4 [n=2167; mean age 56.6(9.1) years, 58.6% female, 61.1% black, 40.5% below poverty line], we identified five neighborhood perception factors: 1) concern about specific crime types 2) physical environment, 3) violent crime, 4) social environment and 5) violence beyond the neighborhood. Across NPS quintiles, those in quintile 5 were more likely to be younger ( p < 0.001), white ( p < 0.001), above the poverty level ( p < 0.001), and more highly educated ( p < 0.001), but less likely to be smokers ( p = 0.05) or engage in leisure time PA ( p < 0.001). Total PA decreased with increasing NPS in Factor 4 across all race/sex groups and with total NPS for white females. Total PA increased with increasing NPS in Factor 3 for white males. The NPS-PA relationship was not moderated by SES. Conclusions: Poor perceived social cohesion is associated with decreasing PA, while - paradoxically - increased perceived violent crime is associated with higher PA for white males. Further work should investigate potential mediators between social cohesion, crime and PA.