Tumwater is a city of 24,200 in Thurston County, about 3 miles southwest of downtown Olympia · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Tumwater?
Tumwater earns an A- for property crime, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 55% of Americans live. Theft makes up 56% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades B+, and vehicle theft grades A.
A-
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 795 of 1,000About as much property crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
45% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Tumwater as a whole, and 55% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Tumwater scores 795.
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 Tumwater, WA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Tumwater, 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 Tumwater
Car thefts happen in parking lots and garages more often than nationally. In Tumwater, 40% of reported car thefts happen in parking lots and garages, against 23% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Tumwater
Every part of Tumwater where people live grades A or B for property crime on the national scale. Property crime grades across Tumwater run from A+ to B-.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Is property crime going up in Tumwater?
Reported property crime in Tumwater has fallen 24% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 27 to 21 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 18%.
Property crime, change since 2019
TumwaterUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Tumwater. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Tumwater
Property, US
2016
+39%
+15%
2017
+12%
+12%
2018
+10%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-12%
-8%
2021
-4%
-10%
2022
+21%
-6%
2023
-8%
-7%
2024
-24%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Tumwater
CrimeGrade™ estimates Tumwater has about 30 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 26% more than the US as a whole and close to Washington.
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 Tumwater, about 56% 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 Tumwater
Tumwater has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Tumwater, 32% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (43%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (40%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Other places (33%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Vandalism
Homes (24%)
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.
Property crime in Tumwater and nearby cities
Tumwater has more property crime than 6 of its 8 nearest cities. Littlerock and Kamilche have the least property crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Tumwater. 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, Tumwater has more property crime than 63% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Tumwater apart: it has 102 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 4.4 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft; here theft sits near the national middle.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.102 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 96% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.4.4 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 96% 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. 93% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (11 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 72% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.3.7% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 78% 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.88% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 64% 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 Tumwater: C- (26 of 100).3 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 61% 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 Tumwater
Property crime costs Tumwater about $5.0 million a year, or $208 per resident and about $497 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
$760,000
$31
Theft
$2.1 million
$87
Vehicle theft
$970,000
$40
Arson
$48,000
$2
Vandalism
$1.2 million
$48
Total
$5.0 million
$208
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.
