Petworth, Washington, DC Property Crime Rates and Maps
Petworth is a neighborhood of 24,300 residents in Washington, about 3 miles north of downtown · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Petworth?
Property crime is high in Petworth: an F, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 96% of Americans live. Theft makes up 52% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A-, and vehicle theft grades F. Washington as a whole grades F for property crime.
F
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000More property crime than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
4% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Petworth as a whole, and 96% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Petworth scores 0.
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 Petworth, Washington, DC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Petworth in Washington, 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 Petworth
Burglary is a strength. Petworth grades F for property crime, but burglary grades A-.
Car thefts and acts of vandalism both run high. In Petworth, each runs at more than double the US rate: 6.4 car thefts and 14.9 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 5.5 nationally.
How Petworth compares within Washington
High property crime is widespread across Petworth: 90% of residents live in areas graded D or F, and 10% in areas graded A or B. Property crime grades across Petworth run from B to F.
10%90%
A or B 10%D or F 90%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Petworth has less property crime than 12 of the 38 neighborhoods in Washington. It covers much of the Fort Totten-Upper Northeast, Catholic University-Brookland, and Petworth areas and the Chevy Chase, Au-Tenleytown, and Brightwood areas.
Property crime rates and types in Petworth
CrimeGrade™ estimates Petworth has about 49 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about double the rate for the US as a whole and 17% less than Washington as a whole.
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 Petworth, about 52% 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.
Property crime in Petworth and nearby neighborhoods
Of the 10 neighborhoods closest to Petworth, 6 have less property crime. Woodley Park and Michigan Park have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Petworth. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with neighborhoods of similar size and density, Petworth has more property crime than 85% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Petworth apart: it has 0.1 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 47 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places with little parking-lot space tend to report less theft, yet theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.1 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 86% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Petworth: F (1 of 100).47 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 86% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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. 56% of residents here live in walkable areas.B+ (67 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 75% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.16 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 78% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 Petworth
Property crime costs Petworth about $8.6 million a year, or $352 per resident and about $925 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 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. Petworth is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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.
