Galax is an independent city of 6,730 residents, outside any county · Updated November 2026
Is Galax City, VA safe?
Crime in Galax City is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 63% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Galax City. Violent crime grades A- and property crime B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Galax City run from A- to B-, so check the map below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 755 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
37% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Galax City as a whole, and 63% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Galax City scores 755.
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 Galax City, VA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Galax 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 Galax City
Thefts run high. Galax City has thefts at about triple the US rate: 38.3 a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
Crime rates and types in Galax City
CrimeGrade™ estimates Galax City has about 86 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and more than double the rate for 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 44% of crime reported in Galax 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 Galax City
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Galax City, 2022 to 2024.
In Galax City, 60% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often at homes: 57% of them, against 33% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (60%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (57%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (42%)
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 Galax City compares with nearby counties
Galax City has the most crime of its 10 nearest counties.
Two things set Galax City apart: it has 30.3 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 85 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.30.3 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.85 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. 78% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (20 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 61% of Americans
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.12.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 94% 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 Galax City: F (1 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.5% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 80% 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 Galax City
Crime costs Galax City about $1,748 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 45% more than 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 $11 million a year, or $1,672 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$460,000
$68
Rape
$290,000
$43
Robbery
$37,000
$6
Assault
$1.8 million
$261
Burglary
$300,000
$45
Theft
$1.3 million
$197
Vehicle theft
$250,000
$36
Arson
$21,000
$3
Vandalism
$520,000
$78
Total
$4.9 million
$736
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 Galax 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 Galax City, VA average a SchoolGrade of C: 72% of students test proficient, against 55% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Galax City on SchoolGrade
