Norfolk is the fourth-largest city in Virginia, with 236,300 residents in Norfolk City, about 15 miles northwest of downtown Virginia Beach · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Norfolk?
Norfolk grades B- for property crime, with more of it than the neighborhoods where 74% of Americans live. Theft makes up 66% 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 596 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
26% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Norfolk as a whole, and 74% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Norfolk scores 596.
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 Norfolk, VA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Norfolk, 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 Norfolk
One part of Norfolk stands out for theft. Thefts in Fairmont Park, Lafayette-Winona & Lakewood-Willowwood, in central Norfolk, run at about double the rate in the rest of the city.
Car thefts happen in parking lots and garages more often than nationally. In Norfolk, 39% of reported car thefts happen in parking lots and garages, against 23% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Norfolk
Property crime varies widely across Norfolk: 35% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 33% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Norfolk run from A to F.
35%32%33%
A or B 35%C 32%D or F 33%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1North Meadow Brook, Glenwood Park & Titustown, northwestCar thefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Norfolk.B+755
Neighborhood areas of Norfolk, 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.
Is property crime going up in Norfolk?
Reported property crime in Norfolk peaked in 2022 and has fallen 23% since, back near its 2019 level. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 35 to 38 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
NorfolkUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Norfolk. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Norfolk
Property, US
2016
+13%
+15%
2017
+9%
+12%
2018
+0%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-19%
-8%
2021
-4%
-10%
2022
+42%
-6%
2023
+10%
-7%
2024
+8%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Norfolk
CrimeGrade™ estimates Norfolk has about 46 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 94% more than the US as a whole and about double the rate for 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 Norfolk, about 66% 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 Norfolk
Norfolk has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Norfolk, 62% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (62%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (39%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (44%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (48%)
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 Norfolk and nearby cities
Norfolk has more property crime than 7 of its 8 nearest cities. Carrollton and Poquoson have the least property crime nearby.
Transit, night lighting and walkability in Norfolk
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Norfolk apart: it has 11 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby, and 40% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. 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.
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Norfolk: D+ (22 of 100).11 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 86% 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 81% 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. 71% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (25 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 74% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.40% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 76% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.56 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 70% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.7.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 69% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Norfolk on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Norfolk
Property crime costs Norfolk about $72 million a year, or $305 per resident and about $768 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
$5.3 million
$22
Theft
$37 million
$157
Vehicle theft
$14 million
$60
Arson
$220,000
$1
Vandalism
$15 million
$65
Total
$72 million
$305
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.
