The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Capitol Heights, MD
Capitol Heights is a town of 23,300 in Prince George's County, about 7 miles east of downtown Washington · Updated November 2026
Is Capitol Heights, MD safe?
Crime in Capitol Heights is high, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of F. Most US neighborhoods have far less: 94% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Capitol Heights. Violent crime grades F and property crime D. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Capitol Heights run from B to F, so check the map below.
F
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000Less safe than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
6% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Capitol Heights as a whole, and 94% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Capitol Heights 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 crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime 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 Capitol Heights, MD at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Capitol Heights, 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 in Capitol Heights
Aggravated assaults are less common than in most F-graded cities. Capitol Heights has 3.0 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of an F-graded US city, the figure is 7.6.
Car thefts and robberies both run high. In Capitol Heights, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 14.7 car thefts and 3.7 robberies a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 0.62 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Capitol Heights
High crime is widespread across Capitol Heights: 92% of residents live in areas graded D or F, and 5% in areas graded A or B. Grades across Capitol Heights run from B to F; every part of Capitol Heights has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.
92%
A or B 5%C 3%D or F 92%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Capitol Heights, the southeast side has the least crime and the center the most.
Crime rates and types in Capitol Heights
CrimeGrade™ estimates Capitol Heights has about 67 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 79% more than the US as a whole and 61% more than Maryland.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Vandalism is the most common crime in Capitol Heights, about 28% of everything reported.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. 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.
How Capitol Heights compares with nearby cities
Capitol Heights has less crime than 5 of its 10 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Capitol Heights. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Capitol Heights has more crime than 99% of them.
Transit, night lighting and walkability in Capitol Heights
Two things set Capitol Heights apart: it has 48 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby, and 37% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft and robbery, and they run high here.
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Capitol Heights: D (16 of 100).48 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 97% 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
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 and assault. 82% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (16 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 55% 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 robbery and car theft.37% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 74% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.1 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 65% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.8.9 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 64% 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 crime costs Capitol Heights
Crime costs Capitol Heights about $3,790 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, about triple the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $135 million a year, or $5,784 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$15 million
$634
Rape
$500,000
$21
Robbery
$2.7 million
$116
Assault
$2.7 million
$118
Burglary
$520,000
$22
Theft
$2.2 million
$94
Vehicle theft
$5.3 million
$226
Arson
$26,000
$1
Vandalism
$3.1 million
$134
Total
$32 million
$1,366
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Capitol Heights means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
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.
Schools in Capitol Heights, MD average a SchoolGrade of F: 19% of students test proficient, against 15% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Capitol Heights on SchoolGrade
