The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Covington, WA

Covington is a city of 22,700 in King County, about 19 miles southeast of downtown Seattle · Updated November 2026

Is Covington, WA safe?

Crime in Covington is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 64% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Covington. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A against B-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Covington run from A to B-, so check the map below.

B+
Overall CrimeGrade™Safety score 747 of 1,000
Less safe than most US neighborhoods What this means

36% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Covington as a whole, and 64% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Covington scores 747.

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.

A
Violent crimeSafety score 860 of 1,000About as much violent crime as the typical US neighborhood
B-
Property crimeSafety score 552 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoods

How it works


Crime map of Covington

Map of Covington shaded by overall CrimeGrade™, from green for the least crime to red for the most
Click the map to explore
F D C B A+
Highest crime Safest
Colorblind friendly off

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 Covington, WA at ISP Reports.

Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Covington, 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 Covington

Aggravated assaults are less common than in most B-graded cities. Covington has 0.79 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of a B-graded US city, the figure is 3.1.

Burglaries happen at stores and businesses far more often than nationally. In Covington, 65% of reported burglaries happen at stores and businesses, against 28% nationally.


The safest and least safe parts of Covington

Every part of Covington where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Covington run from A to B-; 1% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.

A or B 100%

Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.

Within Covington, the north side has the least crime and the center the most.


Is crime going up in Covington?

Reported violent crime in Covington peaked in 2022 and has fallen 43% since, back near its 2019 level. Property crime is up 10% from 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.7 to 1.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 28 to 31 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 14%.

Violent crime, change since 2019

Property crime, change since 2019

CovingtonUnited States

Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Covington. The charts follow crimes per resident.

Data table
YearViolent, CovingtonViolent, USProperty, CovingtonProperty, US
2016-18%+4%+15%+15%
2017-8%+4%+23%+12%
2018-17%+0%+1%+4%
2019+0%+0%+0%+0%
2020+1%+4%-3%-8%
2021+3%+6%+52%-10%
2022+81%+5%+44%-6%
2023-6%+2%+28%-7%
2024+3%-4%+10%-15%

Crime rates and types in Covington

CrimeGrade™ estimates Covington has about 42 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 12% more than the US as a whole and close to Washington.

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.

The largest share of crime reported in Covington is theft, about 53% of the total. It also makes up the largest share of what crime costs here.

CrimeCrimeGrade™Reported a yearPer 1,000 residentsUS per 1,000
Violent crime
MurderAunder 10.020.05
RapeB+70.290.38
RobberyB+140.610.62
AssaultA-1446.312.3
Property crime
BurglaryB683.02.4
TheftC50022.113.1
Vehicle theftB-924.12.7
ArsonA10.060.12
VandalismB1195.35.5

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 Covington

Covington has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.

Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 38% of them, against 34% nationally.

CrimeMost often atBusiest time
BurglaryStores and businesses (65%)Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theftHomes (48%)Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from carsHomes (38%)Evening (6 pm to midnight)
VandalismHomes (34%)Evening (6 pm to midnight)
RobberyStores and businesses (78%)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 Covington compares with nearby cities

Covington has less crime than 5 of its 9 nearest cities.

Nearby cities

PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
CovingtonB+747AB-22,700
Lake Morton-Berrydale 2 milesA879AA12,100
Maple Valley 3 milesA847AB+30,600
East Hill-Meridian 5 milesB645A-C34,300
Seattle 21 milesC-354B-F768,300
Show all 9
PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
Black Diamond 5 milesA910A+A6,650
Hobart 5 milesA911A+A6,730
Kent 5 milesC451B-D104,500
Fairwood 6 milesB+702A-B-18,900
Auburn 6 milesC+517B-C-91,300

Nearest first, with each place's distance from Covington. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).

Compared with cities of similar size and density, Covington has more crime than 75% of them.

Cities of similar size and density

PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
CovingtonB+747AB-22,700
Red Lion, PAA+934A+A+22,700
Union Hill-Novelty Hill, WAA918A+A22,700
New Brighton, MNA893A+A-22,700
North Salt Lake, UTA879AA-22,700
Show all 10
PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
Westbrook, MEA878AA22,700
Monroe, WAA853AA-22,700
Beeville, TXA-846AA-22,700
The Crossings, FLB+751A-B22,600
Chalmette, LAB+737B+B+22,700
Jasmine Estates, FLB629C+A-22,700

Empty homes, jobs and walkability in Covington

Two things set Covington apart: it has 3.0% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 22 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, yet burglary and vandalism run higher here than that would suggest.

Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.3.0% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 86% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.22 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 84% 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. 84% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (17 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 52% 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.7.3 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 79% of US city residents
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 Covington: D (15 of 100).5 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 70% 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.99% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 68% of US city residents

BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Covington 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 crime costs Covington

Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Covington about $1,178 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 $17 million a year, or $746 per resident.

How the cost breaks down
CrimeCost a yearPer resident
Murder$640,000$28
Rape$400,000$18
Robbery$430,000$19
Assault$1.4 million$63
Burglary$610,000$27
Theft$2.6 million$113
Vehicle theft$1.4 million$62
Arson$34,000$1
Vandalism$840,000$37
Total$8.4 million$369

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 Covington 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
  • Population and housing figures from the US Census Bureau
  • 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.

More about CrimeGrade™ data


Schools in Covington

Schools in Covington, WA average a SchoolGrade of B-: 48% of students test proficient, against 44% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Covington on SchoolGrade