Charleston is the capital and largest city of West Virginia, with 74,000 residents in Kanawha County · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Charleston?
Charleston earns a B+ for property crime, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 62% of Americans live. Theft makes up 55% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades B-, and vehicle theft grades A.
B+
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 745 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
38% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Charleston as a whole, and 62% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Charleston scores 745.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more property crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its property crime with the homes, parked cars and people there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Charleston, WV at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Charleston, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out about property crime in Charleston
Car thefts are less common than the crime level suggests. Property crime in Charleston runs 56% above the US rate, but car thefts run 33% below it: 1.8 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
Burglaries run high in East End & West Side. In this part of central Charleston, they run at more than double the rate in the rest of Charleston.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Charleston
Most of Charleston grades well for property crime: 82% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 6% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Charleston run from A+ to D-.
82%12%
A or B 82%C 12%D or F 6%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Loudon Heights & South Park, southThefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Charleston.A875
2Riverview-Blackhawk, eastBurglaries run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Charleston.A-812
3Edgewood, northActs of vandalism run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Charleston.A-777
4Kanawha City & South Ruffner, southeastBurglaries run about 20% lower here than in the rest of Charleston.B+748
5Davis Creek & Oakwood, westThefts run about 50% higher here than in the rest of Charleston.B+707
6North Charleston, northwestThefts run about 30% higher here than in the rest of Charleston.B+706
7East End & West Side, centralCar thefts run about 70% higher here than in the rest of Charleston.B-591
Neighborhood areas of Charleston, ranked by property crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Property crime rates and types in Charleston
CrimeGrade™ estimates Charleston has about 37 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 56% more than the US as a whole and more than double the rate for West Virginia.
All property crime
Burglary
Vehicle theft
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Property crime here includes vandalism, which the FBI's property crime rate leaves out.
Theft is the most common property crime in Charleston, about 55% of the total, followed by vandalism and burglary.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a property crime with what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for vehicle theft, people and parking for theft, homes and businesses for vandalism. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when property crime happens in Charleston
Charleston has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Charleston, 58% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often at homes: 34% of them, against 33% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (58%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (34%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (33%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (38%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Charleston and nearby cities
Of the 4 cities closest to Charleston, 3 have less property crime. Pinch and Dunbar have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Charleston. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Charleston has more property crime than 66% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Charleston apart: it has 16.3% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 84 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and they run high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.16.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 97% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.84 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 93% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 80% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (17 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 53% of US city residents
Show all 6
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Charleston: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.67% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 80% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.0 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 78% of US city residents
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What property crime costs Charleston
Property crime costs Charleston about $19 million a year, or $254 per resident and about $551 per household: the value of what is stolen or damaged, plus the police, courts and prisons that respond.
Cost of property crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering add little to the cost of property crime, so this is close to its full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Burglary
$4.1 million
$56
Theft
$7.8 million
$105
Vehicle theft
$2.1 million
$28
Arson
$500,000
$7
Vandalism
$4.3 million
$58
Total
$19 million
$254
How CrimeGrade™ works
The property crime CrimeGrade™ covers burglary, theft, car theft, arson and vandalism, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each property crime against what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for car theft, and the people and parking around stores for theft.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
