The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Norfolk, VA
Norfolk is the fourth-largest city in Virginia, with 236,300 residents in Norfolk City, about 15 miles northwest of downtown Virginia Beach · Updated November 2026
Is Norfolk, VA safe?
Norfolk has more crime than most of the country: an overall CrimeGrade™ of C+, with more crime than the neighborhoods where 83% of Americans live. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, B- against C. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Norfolk run from A to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
C+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 463 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
17% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Norfolk as a whole, and 83% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Norfolk scores 463.
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 Norfolk, VA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Norfolk, 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 Norfolk
Murders run high in Central Brambleton, Ballentine Place & Bruce's Park. In this part of south Norfolk, they run at more than triple the rate in the rest of Norfolk.
Theft at more than double the US rate. Norfolk has 30.6 thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Norfolk
Safety changes a lot from one part of Norfolk to the next: 37% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 37% live in areas graded D or F. Grades across Norfolk run from A to F; 8% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
37%26%37%
A or B 37%C 26%D or F 37%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1North Meadow Brook, Glenwood Park & Titustown, northwestCar thefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Norfolk.B+756
Neighborhood areas of Norfolk, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is crime going up in Norfolk?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Norfolk is down 15%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 5.5 to 4.7 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 35 to 38 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 13%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
NorfolkUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Norfolk. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Norfolk
Violent, US
Property, Norfolk
Property, US
2016
+19%
+4%
+13%
+15%
2017
+2%
+4%
+9%
+12%
2018
-14%
+0%
+0%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+20%
+4%
-19%
-8%
2021
+40%
+6%
-4%
-10%
2022
+30%
+5%
+42%
-6%
2023
-3%
+2%
+10%
-7%
2024
-15%
-4%
+8%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Norfolk
CrimeGrade™ estimates Norfolk has about 68 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 83% more than the US as a whole and about 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 45% of crime reported in Norfolk. Murder is less common but costs more, because each one does far 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 Norfolk
Norfolk has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Norfolk, 62% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 44% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (62%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (39%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (44%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (48%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (34%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (53%)
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 Norfolk compares with nearby cities
Of the 8 cities closest to Norfolk, 7 have less crime. Carrollton and Poquoson have the least.
Transit, night lighting and walkability in Norfolk
Two things set Norfolk apart: it has 11 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby, and 40% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. It also combines many jobs with busy transit: places with both tend to report more theft and robbery than places with only one of them, and they run high here.
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 Norfolk: D+ (22 of 100).11 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 86% 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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 81% 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. 71% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (25 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 74% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.40% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 76% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.56 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 70% 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.7.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 69% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Norfolk 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 Norfolk
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Norfolk about $2,163 a year per household, 79% more than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $203 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $745 million a year, or $3,152 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$68 million
$288
Rape
$5.6 million
$24
Robbery
$5.6 million
$24
Assault
$52 million
$219
Burglary
$5.3 million
$22
Theft
$37 million
$157
Vehicle theft
$14 million
$60
Arson
$220,000
$1
Vandalism
$15 million
$65
Total
$203 million
$859
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 Norfolk 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
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 Norfolk, VA average a SchoolGrade of D: 65% of students test proficient, against 37% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Norfolk on SchoolGrade
