The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Charlottesville City, VA
Charlottesville is an independent city of 45,400 residents, outside any county · Updated November 2026
Is Charlottesville City, VA safe?
Crime in Charlottesville City is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 65% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Charlottesville City. Violent crime grades A- and property crime B. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Charlottesville City run from A to C+, so check the map below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 739 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
35% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Charlottesville City as a whole, and 65% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Charlottesville City scores 739.
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 Charlottesville City, VA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Charlottesville City, 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 Charlottesville City
Thefts and acts of vandalism both run high. In Charlottesville City, each runs at about double the US rate: 26.1 thefts and 11.0 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 and 5.5 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Charlottesville City
Low crime is the norm across Charlottesville City: 94% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Charlottesville City run from A to C+; 11% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
94%
A or B 94%C 6%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Across the county, the northeast side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Charlottesville City?
Reported violent crime in Charlottesville City peaked in 2022 and has fallen 37% since, back near its 2019 level. Property crime is up 40% from 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.8 to 3.9 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 28 to 39 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 13%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Charlottesville CityUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Charlottesville City. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Charlottesville City
Violent, US
Property, Charlottesville City
Property, US
2016
+45%
+4%
+9%
+15%
2017
+19%
+4%
-4%
+12%
2018
+12%
+0%
+0%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+20%
+4%
-18%
-8%
2021
+47%
+6%
+11%
-10%
2022
+60%
+5%
+51%
-6%
2023
-10%
+2%
+53%
-7%
2024
+2%
-4%
+40%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Charlottesville City
CrimeGrade™ estimates Charlottesville City has about 59 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 58% more than the US as a whole and 71% more than Virginia.
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.
Theft makes up about 45% of crime reported in Charlottesville City. Assault is less common but costs more, because each one does more harm.
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.
Where and when crime happens in Charlottesville City
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Charlottesville City, 2022 to 2024.
In Charlottesville City, 63% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 39% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (63%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Car theft
Other places (31%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (39%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (29%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (39%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (36%)
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.
How Charlottesville City compares with nearby counties
Charlottesville City has the most crime of its 10 nearest counties.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Charlottesville City. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Charlottesville City has more crime than 82% of them.
Shops, jobs and walkability in Charlottesville City
Two things set Charlottesville City apart: it has 22.1 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 83 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report more theft, and it runs high here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.22.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 99% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.83 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 99% of Americans
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.C (40 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 90% of Americans
Show all 6
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 90% of Americans
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 Charlottesville City: D- (7 of 100).11 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 87% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.33% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 74% of Americans
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 Charlottesville City
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Charlottesville City about $1,235 a year per household, about the same as 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 $59 million a year, or $1,288 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$2.2 million
$48
Rape
$1.2 million
$26
Robbery
$820,000
$18
Assault
$7.4 million
$164
Burglary
$960,000
$21
Theft
$6.1 million
$134
Vehicle theft
$2.0 million
$44
Arson
$71,000
$2
Vandalism
$3.5 million
$78
Total
$24 million
$534
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 Charlottesville City 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 Charlottesville City, VA average a SchoolGrade of C: 73% of students test proficient, against 44% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Charlottesville City on SchoolGrade
