CrimeMetric

Crime in Virginia

Major crime across Virginia is 15% below the U.S. rate per resident: 36% lower for persons crimes and 10% lower for property crimes. That is the 36th highest of the 50 states and DC. Expected major crimes are down 8.5% from a year earlier. Of the 213 places below, 82 are more than 5% above the statewide rate.

Major crime
85
15% below the U.S. rate
1,456 per 100,000
down 8.5% in a year
Persons crimes
64
36% below the U.S. rate
198 per 100,000
down 5.2% in a year
Property crimes
90
10% below the U.S. rate
1,258 per 100,000
down 9.0% in a year
Social disorder
93
7% below the U.S. rate
2,158 per 100,000
down 5.3% in a year
Cities and places

Larger places in Virginia, against the U.S. and the state

Major-crime index per resident; the U.S. rate is 100.

Highest major-crime index

  1. Portsmouth250
  2. Petersburg247
  3. Norfolk234
  4. Richmond225
  5. Roanoke202

Lowest major-crime index

  1. South Riding23
  2. Burke31
  3. Blacksburg33
  4. Sterling34
  5. Oakton34

Among the 49 places in Virginia of 25,000 or more residents that we publish.

PlaceIndexAgainst Virginia
Virginia Beach85about the same
Chesapeake10726% higher
Arlington10929% higher
Richmond2252.7 times
Norfolk2342.8 times
Newport News1521.8 times
Alexandria85about the same
Hampton1581.9 times
Suffolk9411% higher
Roanoke2022.4 times
Portsmouth2502.9 times
Lynchburg10220% higher
Centreville4349% lower
Dale City4844% lower
Reston805% lower
Harrisonburg10017% higher
Tuckahoe779% lower
McLean4547% lower
Leesburg906% higher
Lake Ridge4844% lower
Ashburn3954% lower
Blacksburg3361% lower
Woodbridge86about the same
Burke3164% lower
Manassas86about the same
Charlottesville1651.9 times
Linton Hall3954% lower
Annandale7116% lower
Danville1792.1 times
Mechanicsville5634% lower
Fair Oaks10726% higher
Oakton3460% lower
South Riding2373% lower
Sterling3461% lower
Petersburg2472.9 times
West Falls Church7017% lower
Short Pump1531.8 times
Springfield1551.8 times
Fredericksburg1581.9 times
Cherry Hill5536% lower
Winchester12345% higher
Fairfax1752.1 times
Chester11232% higher
Staunton85about the same
Herndon83about the same
Bailey's Crossroads1932.3 times
Cave Spring6622% lower
Salem7215% lower
Culpeper81about the same
Waynesboro928% higher

The 50 largest places in Virginia, largest first.

All 213 places in Virginia

Every place in Virginia with a page, A to Z.

Crime by type

Weapons violations and shoplifting stand out most, at about 37% above the U.S. rate

Every block group in Virginia, including towns and unincorporated areas: the index against the U.S. rate per resident, and expected crimes a year per 100,000 residents.

Persons crimes

Murder953.4
Rape / sexual assault7224.0
Robbery6427.6
Aggravated assault62143

Property crimes

Shoplifting135429
Theft from vehicle90239
Other larceny83416
Motor vehicle theft5994.6
Burglary4979.9

Social disorder

Weapons violations137136
Simple assault118855
Vandalism99407
Disorderly conduct92109
Trespassing92215
Drugs and alcohol64319
Intimidation52118

How crime varies across Virginia

Share of Virginia residents by the major-crime index of their census block group.

  • 0–5055.9%
  • 50–10023.2%
  • 100–20013.0%
  • 200–4005.6%
  • 400+2.3%

100.0% of Virginia residents live where agencies send detailed incident reports to the FBI. Data sources

5,963 block groups and 8,954,604 residents. How the estimates are made