The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Connecticut
Connecticut is home to 3.62 million residents; Hartford is its capital and Bridgeport its largest city · Updated November 2026
Is Connecticut safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A means crime in Connecticut is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Connecticut sits near the middle: 55% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 45% in neighborhoods with less. It ranks 22nd safest of the 50 states and Washington, DC. Violent crime grades A and property crime A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Connecticut run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe counties and cities below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 859 of 1,00022nd safest of the 50 states and DCi What this means
55% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Connecticut as a whole, and 45% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Connecticut scores 859.
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 Connecticut at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Connecticut, 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 Connecticut
Aggravated assaults and burglaries both run low. In Connecticut, each runs at less than half the US rate: 0.81 aggravated assaults and 1.0 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 and 2.4 nationally.
Thefts from cars happen in the morning more often than nationally. In Connecticut, 40% of reported thefts from cars happen in the morning (6 am to noon), against 23% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous counties and cities in Connecticut
Most of Connecticut grades well: 88% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 7% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Connecticut run from A+ to F; 70% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
88%
A or B 88%C 5%D or F 7%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
All 9 counties, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Cities of 10,000 or more residents, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Is crime going up in Connecticut?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Connecticut is down 26%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.9 to 1.4 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts stayed at about 14 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 10% and property crime fell 11%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
ConnecticutUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Connecticut. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Connecticut
Violent, US
Property, Connecticut
Property, US
2016
+23%
+4%
+26%
+15%
2017
+24%
+4%
+24%
+12%
2018
+13%
+0%
+17%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-1%
+4%
+9%
-8%
2021
-6%
+6%
+8%
-10%
2022
-16%
+5%
+6%
-6%
2023
-17%
+2%
+9%
-7%
2024
-26%
-4%
-2%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Connecticut
CrimeGrade™ estimates Connecticut has about 27 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 27% less than the US as a whole.
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 is the most common crime in Connecticut, about 38% of everything reported, but assault 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 Connecticut
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Connecticut, 2022 to 2024.
In Connecticut, 56% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (56%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Car theft
Homes (35%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Homes (39%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (36%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (38%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (47%)
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 Connecticut compares with nearby states
Connecticut has less crime than 6 of its 10 nearest states.
Night lighting, transit and empty homes in Connecticut
One thing sets Connecticut apart: it has 7 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places like that tend to report more theft and robbery, and robbery runs high here.
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.66% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 86% 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 Connecticut: D (14 of 100).7 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 76% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.5.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 72% of Americans
Show all 4
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.21% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 59% 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 Connecticut
Crime costs Connecticut about $713 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 41% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $1.01 billion a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $2.64 billion a year, or $728 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$168 million
$46
Rape
$40 million
$11
Robbery
$44 million
$12
Assault
$266 million
$74
Burglary
$34 million
$9
Theft
$194 million
$54
Vehicle theft
$133 million
$37
Arson
$3.7 million
$1
Vandalism
$129 million
$36
Total
$1.01 billion
$279
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 Connecticut 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 Connecticut average a SchoolGrade of C+: 44% of students test proficient, against 43% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Connecticut on SchoolGrade
