Virginia Crime Rates & City Safety Scores
Population-adjusted FBI reporting rates; see the city profiles below.
Key facts
- 01
Virginia displays a 36.43-point adjusted-score range in its 2025 source-year cohort: Virginia Beach, Virginia at 63.19 points out of 100 versus Newport News, Virginia at 26.76.
- 02
Virginia displays 6 jurisdiction profiles from a scoring run containing 172 reportable jurisdictions in its 2025 source-year directory; 6 displayed profiles have scores.
- 03
Virginia has 2 displayed jurisdictions with decreasing reported trajectories versus 1 increasing and 3 stable, comparing weighted 2024 reporting with 2025.
- 04
Virginia Beach, Virginia has a reporting population of 457,066 residents versus 184,774 in Newport News, Virginia, in the 2025 source-year displayed cohort.
Quick answer
In the Safety Atlas 2026 public safety index, the highest-scoring city in Virginia is Virginia Beach with an adjusted safety score of 63.19 out of 100, ranked across 6 tracked jurisdictions using 2025 FBI reporting.
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Virginia city safety rankings
Ranked by adjusted Safety Atlas score. The table lists the 6 most populous jurisdictions in this directory; each rank is calculated within this displayed 6-jurisdiction cohort.
| City / Jurisdiction | Cohort Rank | Population | Safety Score | Overall Trend | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Beach | #1 of 6 | 457,066 | 63.19 | ↓ Decreasing | View Report → |
| Arlington | #2 of 6 | 207,627 | 53.05 | → Stable | View Report → |
| Chesapeake | #3 of 6 | 251,153 | 48.31 | ↓ Decreasing | View Report → |
| Norfolk | #4 of 6 | 235,037 | 29.59 | → Stable | View Report → |
| Richmond | #5 of 6 | 227,595 | 29.54 | ↑ Increasing | View Report → |
| Newport News | #6 of 6 | 184,774 | 26.76 | → Stable | View Report → |
* Trajectory trends compare weighted year-over-year reporting from 2024 to 2025. Scores describe relative reported rates, not personal risk. Cohort rank covers only the 6 jurisdictions listed above.
Virginia in 7 numbers
- Every major offense fell in 2025. Motor vehicle theft -21% (18,331 to 14,390), burglary -20%, homicide -14%, robbery -12%, larceny-theft -10%, aggravated assault -4%.
- Almost half of all reports are property crime. 218,228 of 488,495 reports (44.7%); larceny-theft alone is 155,006 (31.7%).
- Clearances skew toward violent crime. 78% of homicides cleared vs 20% of motor vehicle thefts and 22% of larcenies (2025, reports cleared divided by reports received, reporting agencies only).
- Homicides fell by nearly a fifth. 739 reports in 2025 vs 860 in 2024 (-14%) across reporting agencies.
- The biggest volume is not violent. Simple assault (110,804) alone outweighs the entire personal-safety total (28,399, 5.8% of reports).
- Watch the monthly shape. Larceny-theft peaked in May (14,014) and troughed in Feb (12,088), a 1.2× swing inside a single year.
- These are reporting-agency sums. 47 of 245 agencies reported motor vehicle theft in December 2025 (vs 48 in January); totals reflect who reported, not a census of crime.
Takeaways are computed from summed FBI CDE reported counts (source year 2025, 245 agencies in file). They describe reported data, not forecasts; check the methodology and coverage notes before reuse.
Every number on this page ships in the Virginia workbook.
Virginia monthly trend: reporting-agency sums through December 2025
Annual totals hide timing. The bars below show 2025 reported counts per month summed across reporting agencies for three indicator offenses. Counts only; there is no honest monthly denominator at this grain, so no rates are shown.
Larceny-theft, month by month
↓ Decreasing, 155006 reports vs 172895 in 2024 (down 10% in reported data).
| Month | Count | Agencies | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2025 | 12,903 | 49 | Full |
| Feb 2025 | 12,088 | 48 | Full |
| Mar 2025 | 13,063 | 48 | Full |
| Apr 2025 | 13,235 | 48 | Full |
| May 2025 | 14,014 | 48 | Full |
| Jun 2025 | 13,234 | 48 | Full |
| Jul 2025 | 13,479 | 48 | Full |
| Aug 2025 | 12,405 | 48 | Full |
| Sep 2025 | 12,505 | 48 | Full |
| Oct 2025 | 13,091 | 48 | Full |
| Nov 2025 | 12,329 | 48 | Full |
| Dec 2025 | 12,660 | 48 | Full |
Simple assault, month by month
→ Stable, 110804 reports vs 113261 in 2024 (about level in reported data).
| Month | Count | Agencies | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2025 | 8,649 | 47 | Full |
| Feb 2025 | 8,169 | 46 | Full |
| Mar 2025 | 9,585 | 46 | Full |
| Apr 2025 | 9,168 | 46 | Full |
| May 2025 | 10,279 | 46 | Full |
| Jun 2025 | 9,032 | 46 | Full |
| Jul 2025 | 9,406 | 46 | Full |
| Aug 2025 | 9,055 | 46 | Full |
| Sep 2025 | 9,954 | 46 | Full |
| Oct 2025 | 9,841 | 46 | Full |
| Nov 2025 | 9,249 | 46 | Full |
| Dec 2025 | 8,417 | 46 | Full |
Vandalism, month by month
↓ Decreasing, 55477 reports vs 63408 in 2024 (down 13% in reported data).
| Month | Count | Agencies | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2025 | 4,300 | 49 | Full |
| Feb 2025 | 4,005 | 48 | Full |
| Mar 2025 | 4,868 | 48 | Full |
| Apr 2025 | 5,165 | 48 | Full |
| May 2025 | 5,314 | 48 | Full |
| Jun 2025 | 5,036 | 48 | Full |
| Jul 2025 | 4,948 | 48 | Full |
| Aug 2025 | 4,482 | 48 | Full |
| Sep 2025 | 4,533 | 48 | Full |
| Oct 2025 | 4,551 | 48 | Full |
| Nov 2025 | 4,175 | 48 | Full |
| Dec 2025 | 4,100 | 48 | Full |
Clearances: what got cleared in 2025
78% of homicides cleared vs 20% of motor vehicle thefts, clearance follows violent crime, not volume.
| Offense | Reported | Cleared | Clearance rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 739 | 576 | 77.9% |
| Aggravated Assault | 17,792 | 10,857 | 61.0% |
| Robbery | 4,024 | 1,988 | 49.4% |
| Burglary | 10,511 | 2,933 | 27.9% |
| Larceny-theft | 155,006 | 34,038 | 22.0% |
| Motor Vehicle Theft | 14,390 | 2,813 | 19.5% |
Clearances ÷ reports received; clearances may concern earlier reports, so this is not a solve rate.
Monthly counts summed over reporting agencies, FBI CDE source year 2025. A hyphen (-) means not reported, not zero. Totals reflect who reported, not a census of crime.
Downloads: Virginia monthly series (JSON) · same data (CSV) · build manifest
Virginia city reports
- Virginia Beach safety report: #1 of 6, population 457,066, score 63.19, and the displayed trajectory is ↓ Decreasing.
- Arlington safety report: #2 of 6, population 207,627, score 53.05, and the displayed trajectory is → Stable.
- Chesapeake safety report: #3 of 6, population 251,153, score 48.31, and the displayed trajectory is ↓ Decreasing.
- Norfolk safety report: #4 of 6, population 235,037, score 29.59, and the displayed trajectory is → Stable.
- Richmond safety report: #5 of 6, population 227,595, score 29.54, and the displayed trajectory is ↑ Increasing.
- Newport News safety report: #6 of 6, population 184,774, score 26.76, and the displayed trajectory is → Stable.
Reading the comparison
Scores compare reported rates; they do not predict personal risk. Methodology · Coverage
Monthly count comparisons
Virginia reporting agencies recorded 14,014 larceny-theft offenses in May 2025 versus 12,088 in Feb 2025, a difference of 1,926 reports; 48 agencies reported in the peak-count month compared with 48 in the minimum-count month, within 12 displayed months totaling 155,006 reports (FBI CDE reporting-agency sums, not statewide population rates).
Virginia reporting agencies recorded 10,279 simple assault offenses in May 2025 versus 8,169 in Feb 2025, a difference of 2,110 reports; 46 agencies reported in the peak-count month compared with 46 in the minimum-count month, within 12 displayed months totaling 110,804 reports (FBI CDE reporting-agency sums, not statewide population rates).
Virginia reporting agencies recorded 5,314 vandalism offenses in May 2025 versus 4,005 in Feb 2025, a difference of 1,309 reports; 48 agencies reported in the peak-count month compared with 48 in the minimum-count month, within 12 displayed months totaling 55,477 reports (FBI CDE reporting-agency sums, not statewide population rates).
Virginia reporting agencies recorded 576 cleared homicide offenses against 739 reports received in 2025 (77.9%), compared with 2,813 cleared motor vehicle theft offenses against 14,390 reports (19.5%), a 58.4-percentage-point difference between the displayed clearance ratios; clearances can concern earlier reports.
Virginia Beach, Virginia records 63.19 adjusted score points out of 100 in the 2025 source-year directory, 21.45 points above the displayed scored-cohort mean of 41.74; its reporting population of 457,066 residents accounts for 29.2% of the 1,563,252 residents summed across the 6 displayed jurisdiction populations.
Newport News, Virginia records 26.76 adjusted score points out of 100 in the 2025 source-year directory, 14.98 points below the displayed scored-cohort mean of 41.74; its reporting population of 184,774 residents accounts for 11.8% of the 1,563,252 residents summed across the 6 displayed jurisdiction populations.
Richmond, Virginia records 29.54 adjusted score points out of 100 in the 2025 source-year directory, 12.20 points below the displayed scored-cohort mean of 41.74; its reporting population of 227,595 residents accounts for 14.6% of the 1,563,252 residents summed across the 6 displayed jurisdiction populations.
Virginia reporting-agency sums contain 155,006 larceny-theft reports in 2025 versus 172,895 in 2024, 17,889 reports (10.3%) fewer across the two complete twelve-month source series; monthly reporting participation ranges from 46 to 49 agencies across those years, so the count change includes differences in participation and is not a population-adjusted rate change.
Virginia reporting-agency sums contain 110,804 simple assault reports in 2025 versus 113,261 in 2024, 2,457 reports (2.2%) fewer across the two complete twelve-month source series; monthly reporting participation ranges from 44 to 47 agencies across those years, so the count change includes differences in participation and is not a population-adjusted rate change.
Virginia reporting-agency sums contain 55,477 vandalism reports in 2025 versus 63,408 in 2024, 7,931 reports (12.5%) fewer across the two complete twelve-month source series; monthly reporting participation ranges from 46 to 49 agencies across those years, so the count change includes differences in participation and is not a population-adjusted rate change.
How to read the Virginia directory
The scoring run contains 172 reportable jurisdictions in Virginia. This public directory displays the 6 most populous jurisdictions in the current scored comparison set, and each displayed city's rank is calculated within this displayed 6-jurisdiction cohort.
Within the displayed cohort, Virginia Beach has the highest adjusted score at 63.19, and Newport News has the lowest at 26.76. The public-cohort range is 36.43 points; use the offense-rate tables on each city profile to understand that spread.
Current trajectories in the displayed cohort: 2 decreasing, 3 stable, and 1 increasing. Trends compare weighted 2024 and 2025 reporting and do not forecast future incidents.
Review the scoring method, coverage report, and buyer checklist before citing or purchasing data.
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