Kensington is a town of 14,000 in Montgomery County, about 10 miles north of downtown Washington · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Kensington?
Property crime in Kensington runs higher than in most US neighborhoods: a B+, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 65% of Americans live. Theft makes up 78% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A-, and vehicle theft grades B.
B+
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 708 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
35% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Kensington as a whole, and 65% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Kensington scores 708.
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 Kensington, MD at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Kensington, 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 Kensington
Thefts run high. Kensington has thefts at more than double the US rate: 34.0 a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
Car thefts happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In Kensington, 55% of reported car thefts happen in parking lots and garages, against 23% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Kensington
Low property crime is the norm across Kensington: 94% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Property crime grades across Kensington run from A- to C.
94%
A or B 94%C 6%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Property crime rates and types in Kensington
CrimeGrade™ estimates Kensington has about 43 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 82% more than the US as a whole and 57% more than Maryland.
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 Kensington, about 78% of the total, followed by vandalism and vehicle theft.
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 Kensington
The Montgomery County Police Department polices Kensington, and these figures cover every place it serves, 2022 to 2024.
In Kensington, 63% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (63%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (55%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (48%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Parking lots and garages (36%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times; they are over one in five for burglary, car theft, theft from cars, vandalism, robbery, aggravated assault.
Property crime in Kensington and nearby cities
Kensington has less property crime than 5 of its 8 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Kensington. 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, Kensington has more property crime than 80% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Kensington apart: it has 33.7 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 42 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. It also combines many jobs with busy transit: places with both tend to report more theft than places with only one of them, and it runs high here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.33.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 99% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Kensington: C- (28 of 100).42 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 97% 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. 67% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (31 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 82% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.81 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 92% 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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 92% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.1 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 74% 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 Kensington
Property crime costs Kensington about $3.8 million a year, or $275 per resident and about $687 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
$250,000
$18
Theft
$2.4 million
$174
Vehicle theft
$770,000
$55
Arson
$4,100
under $1
Vandalism
$380,000
$27
Total
$3.8 million
$275
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
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.
