The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Herndon, VA
Herndon is a town of 46,800 in Fairfax County, about 20 miles west of downtown Washington · Updated November 2026
Is Herndon, VA safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A means crime in Herndon is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Herndon sits near the middle: 53% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 47% in neighborhoods with less. Violent crime grades A and property crime A-. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A to B+; see the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 852 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
53% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Herndon as a whole, and 47% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Herndon scores 852.
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 Herndon, VA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Herndon, 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 Herndon
Burglaries and car thefts both run low. In Herndon, each runs at less than half the US rate: 0.72 burglaries and 1.1 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.4 and 2.7 nationally.
Thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages more often than nationally. In Herndon, 54% of reported thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages, against 31% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Herndon
Every part of Herndon where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Herndon run from A to B+; 48% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Herndon, the southeast side has the least crime and the west side the most.
Is crime going up in Herndon?
Since 2019, reported property crime in Herndon is up 62%, while violent crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.7 to 2.4 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 11 to 18 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime rose 29%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
HerndonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Herndon. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Herndon
Violent, US
Property, Herndon
Property, US
2016
-21%
+4%
+42%
+15%
2017
-36%
+4%
+7%
+12%
2018
-50%
+0%
-3%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-29%
+4%
-8%
-8%
2021
-22%
+6%
+13%
-10%
2022
-1%
+5%
+55%
-6%
2023
-21%
+2%
+26%
-7%
2024
-9%
-4%
+62%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Herndon
CrimeGrade™ estimates Herndon has about 31 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 16% less than the US as a whole and close to 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 is the most common crime in Herndon, about 45% 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 Herndon
Herndon has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Herndon, 36% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (54%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (48%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (54%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Parking lots and garages (31%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (31%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (40%)
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 Herndon compares with nearby cities
Herndon has the most crime of its 10 nearest cities.
Night lighting, transit and walkability in Herndon
Two things set Herndon apart: it has 12 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby, and 67 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places with both tend to report more theft and robbery than places with only one of them, and they run 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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 92% 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 Herndon: C- (27 of 100).12 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 87% 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. 75% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (21 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 62% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.67 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 84% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.3.7% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 78% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.35% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 73% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Herndon 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 Herndon
Crime costs Herndon about $829 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 31% less 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 $28 million a year, or $603 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.1 million
$23
Rape
$540,000
$11
Robbery
$610,000
$13
Assault
$4.4 million
$94
Burglary
$300,000
$6
Theft
$3.3 million
$72
Vehicle theft
$770,000
$17
Arson
$13,000
under $1
Vandalism
$1.6 million
$34
Total
$13 million
$270
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 Herndon 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 Herndon, VA average a SchoolGrade of B: 75% of students test proficient, against 56% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Herndon on SchoolGrade
