Roanoke is the ninth-largest city in Virginia, with 119,700 residents in Roanoke City · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Roanoke?
Roanoke grades B for property crime, with more of it than the neighborhoods where 71% of Americans live. Theft makes up 62% 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 647 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
29% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Roanoke as a whole, and 71% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Roanoke scores 647.
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 Roanoke, VA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Roanoke, 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 Roanoke
One part of Roanoke stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in Downtown Roanoke & Loudon-Melrose, in central Roanoke, run at more than double the rate in the rest of the city.
Thefts and acts of vandalism both run high. In Roanoke, each runs at about double the US rate: 28.1 thefts and 10.6 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 and 5.5 nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Roanoke
Most of Roanoke grades well for property crime: 61% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 10% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Roanoke run from A+ to F.
61%29%10%
A or B 61%C 29%D or F 10%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Raleigh Court, Deyerle & Colonial Avenue, southwestCar thefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Roanoke.A-825
2Garden City, Morningside & Riverdale, southeastBurglaries run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Roanoke.B+764
3Preston Park, Williamson Road & Mecca Gardens, northeastCar thefts run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Roanoke.B+739
4South Roanoke, Wasena & Southern Hills, southThefts run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Roanoke.B692
5Peters Creek North, South Washington Heights & Peachtree-Norwood, northwestClose to the rest of Roanoke on most crimes.B641
6Cherry Hill, Shenandoah West & Wilmont, westBurglaries run about 40% higher here than in the rest of Roanoke.B620
7Roundhill, Melrose-Rugby & Washington Park, northThefts run about 90% higher here than in the rest of Roanoke.C460
8Downtown Roanoke & Loudon-Melrose, centralBurglaries run about 90% higher here than in the rest of Roanoke.C-381
9Belmont & Kenwood, eastBurglaries run at more than double the rate in the rest of Roanoke.C-360
Neighborhood areas of Roanoke, 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 Roanoke?
Reported property crime in Roanoke has held about steady since 2019, within 10%. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 45 to 40 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
RoanokeUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Roanoke. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Roanoke
Property, US
2016
-5%
+15%
2017
+2%
+12%
2018
+1%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-14%
-8%
2021
-16%
-10%
2022
-3%
-6%
2023
-12%
-7%
2024
-10%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Roanoke
CrimeGrade™ estimates Roanoke has about 45 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 91% 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 Roanoke, about 62% 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 Roanoke
Roanoke has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Roanoke, 65% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often at homes: 38% of them, against 33% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (65%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (38%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (39%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (49%)
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 Roanoke and nearby cities
Roanoke has the most property crime of its 8 nearest cities.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Roanoke apart: it has 9.9% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 64 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.9.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 85% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.64 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher 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. 73% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (22 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 65% of US city residents
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.12.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 74% 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 Roanoke: D (14 of 100).4 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 66% 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.87% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 64% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Roanoke 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 Roanoke
Property crime costs Roanoke about $37 million a year, or $305 per resident and about $691 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
$3.4 million
$29
Theft
$17 million
$144
Vehicle theft
$5.9 million
$49
Arson
$930,000
$8
Vandalism
$9.0 million
$75
Total
$37 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.
