The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Morgantown, WV: Crime Maps and Statistics

C+

Overall Crime Grade™

Violent Crime Grade	B-
Property Crime Grade	C+
Other Crime Grade	C

Which crimes are included?

$25.2 million

Cost of Crime™ for Morgantown, WV

In 2025, crime will cost $780 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Morgantown with the least crime overall and red marks the most. Each area is weighted by the type and severity of every offense, so a place with rare but serious violent crime can grade differently from one with frequent petty theft. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read the colors.

Is Morgantown, WV Safe?

The C+ overall grade blends the violent, property, and other grades shown above into one measure, set against the average US city, where Morgantown's combined rate is about the same as the norm. Morgantown sits in the 49th percentile, ahead of 49% of cities and behind 51%. The grade covers only Morgantown's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities.

The overall crime rate in Morgantown is 24.25 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the northeast part of the city the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 31 in the central neighborhoods to 1 in 53 in the northeast.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the central parts of Morgantown, WV report the most crime, about 426 cases per year. The west part reports the fewest, around 89 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Morgantown, WV

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in Morgantown for 2025 is $25,177,892, about $340 per resident and $780 per household. That equals 1.0% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 58.4%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 29.2%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 12.3%

How Much Does Crime Cost in Morgantown Compared to Other Cities?

Morgantown, WV:	$340
Welch, WV:	$655
Bunker Hill, WV:	$179
West Virginia:	$362
USA:	$464

The overall cost of crime per resident in Morgantown is $340 per year, which is $124 less than the national average and $22 less than West Virginia's state average. The comparison below uses cities similar to Morgantown:

In Welch, WV, crime costs $655 per person, which is $315 more than in Morgantown.
In Bunker Hill, WV, crime costs $179 per person, which is $161 less than in Morgantown

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

The table below shows the total cost of crime to the residents of Morgantown for the year 2025 along with the projected cost per resident.

Crime	Cost to Morgantown	Cost per Morgantown Resident
Murder	$6.36 million	$86
Rape/Sexual Assault	$3.77 million	$51
Robbery	$202,024	$3
Assault	$3.32 million	$45
Kidnapping	$225,788	$3
Vehicle Theft	$1.27 million	$17
Burglary	$1.27 million	$17
Theft	$3.56 million	$48
Arson	$201,632	$3
Vandalism	$2.33 million	$31
Animal Cruelty	$11,891	$0
Drug Crimes	$2.64 million	$36
Identity Theft	$13,249	$0
Total Cost of Crime	$25,177,892	$340

The Intangible Cost of Crime in Morgantown, WV

The totals above count tangible costs only. Violent crime also carries a human cost, the pain and trauma borne by victims and their families, which research-based methods estimate so it can be compared across places. That intangible cost in Morgantown totals $61,094,318 ($825 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $86,272,209 ($1,166 per resident). All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Crime Maps

Crime rates on the map are measured per resident, so areas with heavy visitor traffic can read high because crime follows crowds, even where few people live. The central part of the city holds more retail establishments, which lifts recorded crime around those blocks. A red area does not always mean the neighborhood is unsafe for residents.

Airports, parks, and transit hubs create the same effect. Major airports draw large crowds with few residents nearby, so they read as high-crime spots. Parks and recreational areas, of which Morgantown has 8, do the same, and of Morgantown's 74,013 residents few live beside them. Before assuming an area is unsafe, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total number of incidents, and note what sits nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Morgantown, WV at ISP Reports.

Morgantown Crime Breakdown

The tables below show which crimes are used to calculate the Crime Grades above. All crime rates are shown as the number of crimes per 1,000 Morgantown residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	1.564
Robbery	0.0868
Rape	0.8405
Murder	0.0457
Total Violent Crime	2.537 (B-)

Property Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Theft	9.283
Vehicle Theft	1.108
Burglary	1.893
Arson	0.1128
Total Property Crime	12.40 (C+)

Other Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Kidnapping	0.0503
Drug Crimes	4.825
Vandalism	4.400
Identity Theft	0.0231
Animal Cruelty	0.0217
Total "Other" Rate	9.320 (C)

Individual Morgantown Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Cities

Compared to surrounding cities, the rate of crime in Morgantown is similar. The table below shows Crime Grades for cities close to Morgantown.

Nearby City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Westover, WV	D	C-	D+
Star City, WV	B-	B+	B-
Granville, WV	D-	D-	D-
Brookhaven, WV	B	B+	B
Osage, WV	C	C+	C
Baker Ridge, WV	B+	A	B+
Randall, WV	C	C+	C
Dellslow, WV	B+	A-	B+
West Van Voorhis, WV	A-	B+	A-
Cheat Lake, WV	A-	A+	A-

Crime Maps and Rates for City with Similar Populations

Morgantown is lower versus other cities of the same size for crime. The table below compares crime in cities with comparable overall population in the city‘s boundaries.

Similar City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Bismarck, ND	C-	B-	B-
Brownsville, TX	D-	D	D
Boca Raton, FL	A-	A-	A-
Boston, MA	B	C	C
Broomfield, CO	D-	D+	D+
Binghamton, NY	D+	D-	D-
Bremerton, WA	F	D+	D+
Bolingbrook, IL	B-	B+	B+
Brick, NJ	A+	A+	A+
Bronx, NY	C-	D	D

Considering only the crime rate, Morgantown is as safe as the West Virginia state average and safer than the national average.

Safety and school performance are separate topics, but both shape moving decisions. Using SchoolGrade data, schools in Morgantown, WV average SchoolGrade of B, with 46% actual proficiency versus 46% projected; overall, schools meet expectations. See Morgantown schools on SchoolGrade

About the Data

CrimeGrade.org provides highly detailed and accurate crime data, used by insurance companies, home security firms, and other industries. Our data is available for licensing—learn more about our USA crime data and licensing.

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All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.