Crime in New Tacoma, Tacoma, WA

New Tacoma is a neighborhood of 16,500 residents in Tacoma, close to downtown · Updated November 2026

Is New Tacoma in Tacoma safe?

Crime in New Tacoma is high by national standards, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of C-. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 87% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than New Tacoma. Violent crime grades C and property crime D. Tacoma as a whole grades C-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within New Tacoma run from A- to F, so check the map below.

C-
Overall CrimeGrade™Safety score 345 of 1,000
Less safe than most US neighborhoods What this means

13% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than New Tacoma as a whole, and 87% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. New Tacoma scores 345.

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.

C
Violent crimeSafety score 430 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoods
D
Property crimeSafety score 200 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoods

How it works


Crime map of New Tacoma

Map of New Tacoma 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 New Tacoma, Tacoma, WA at ISP Reports.

Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in New Tacoma in Tacoma, 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 New Tacoma

Car thefts and burglaries both run high. In New Tacoma, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 27.5 car thefts and 14.0 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 2.4 nationally.


How New Tacoma compares within Tacoma

High crime is widespread across New Tacoma: 83% of residents live in areas graded D or F, and 2% in areas graded A or B. Grades across New Tacoma run from A- to F; every part of New Tacoma has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.

A or B 2%C 15%D or F 83%

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

New Tacoma has less crime than 4 of the 10 neighborhoods in Tacoma. It covers much of the Central and New Tacoma areas.


Is crime going up in Tacoma?

Since 2019, reported violent crime in Tacoma as a whole is up 24%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 8.6 to 11 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 53 to 55 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 15% and property crime fell 25%.

Violent crime, change since 2019

Property crime, change since 2019

TacomaUnited States

Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments that serve Tacoma. The charts follow crimes per resident.

Data table
YearViolent, TacomaViolent, USProperty, TacomaProperty, US
2016+11%+4%+24%+15%
2017-5%+4%+5%+12%
2018+2%+0%-1%+4%
2019+0%+0%+0%+0%
2020-0%+4%+6%-8%
2021+42%+6%+30%-10%
2022+89%+5%+61%-6%
2023+46%+2%+38%-7%
2024+24%-4%+4%-15%

Crime rates and types in New Tacoma

CrimeGrade™ estimates New Tacoma has about 204 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than triple the rate for the US as a whole and about double the rate for Tacoma 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.

Vandalism makes up about 29% of crime reported in New Tacoma. Assault is less common but costs more, because each one does more harm.

CrimeCrimeGrade™Reported a yearPer 1,000 residentsUS per 1,000
Violent crime
MurderC+40.230.05
RapeC-362.20.38
RobberyA-472.80.62
AssaultC+74445.012.3
Property crime
BurglaryD23114.02.4
TheftB+85651.813.1
Vehicle theftC+45427.52.7
ArsonF211.30.12
VandalismF99059.85.5

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 Tacoma

The Tacoma Police Department polices New Tacoma; these figures cover Tacoma as a whole, 2022 to 2024.

In Tacoma as a whole, 43% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 41% of them, against 31% nationally.

CrimeMost often atBusiest time
BurglaryHomes (43%)Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theftStreets and sidewalks (38%)Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from carsParking lots and garages (41%)Evening (6 pm to midnight)
VandalismHomes (32%)Evening (6 pm to midnight)
RobberyStores and businesses (48%)Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assaultStreets and sidewalks (39%)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 New Tacoma compares with nearby neighborhoods

New Tacoma has more crime than 6 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods. Waller and Summit have the least crime nearby.

Nearby neighborhoods

PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
New TacomaC-345CD16,500
Central 2 milesD-78D+F22,800
North End 2 milesC455B+F27,500
Eastside Enact 3 milesF56DF33,200
Northeast Tacoma 4 milesB628A-C20,600
Show all 10
PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
South Tacoma 4 milesF58D+F31,200
West End 4 milesC440BD-35,100
South End 4 milesF0D-F45,100
Twin Lakes 5 milesB643B+C10,100
Waller 6 milesA-821A-A-5,950
Summit 7 milesB+723B+B7,510

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

Compared with neighborhoods of similar size and density, New Tacoma has more crime than 57% of them.

Neighborhoods of similar size and density

PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
New TacomaC-345CD16,500
O'Hare, Chicago, ILA862AA-16,400
Ellsworth, Elmwood Park, ILB+762AB-16,500
University Heights, San Diego, CAB-556B+D16,600
CUF, Cincinnati, OHC+508BD16,400
Show all 10
PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
Lake View, Paterson, NJC419B-D-16,500
SouthWest Berkeley, Berkeley, CAF0D+F16,600
North Aurora, Aurora, COF0FF16,600
Dutchtown, St. Louis, MOF0FF16,600
Belair-Edison, Baltimore, MDF0FF16,500
Melrose, Oakland, CAF0FF16,500

Parking lots, jobs and walkability in New Tacoma

Two things set New Tacoma apart: it has 12.7 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 352 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report more theft; here theft sits near the national middle.

Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.12.7 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 99% of residents of US city neighborhoods
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.352 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 98% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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. 61% of residents here live in walkable areas.B+ (67 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 76% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.4.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 98% of residents of US city neighborhoods

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 New Tacoma

Crime costs New Tacoma about $5,250 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, more than triple 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 $134 million a year, or $8,111 per resident.


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 New Tacoma 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. New Tacoma is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.

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
  • The Tacoma Police Department publishes its own crime data

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 New Tacoma

Schools in New Tacoma, Tacoma, WA average a SchoolGrade of D: 40% of students test proficient, against 33% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in New Tacoma on SchoolGrade