The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Reston, VA
Reston is an unincorporated community of 63,800 in Fairfax County, about 18 miles west of downtown Washington · Updated November 2026
Is Reston, VA safe?
Yes, crime in Reston is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Reston sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 54% of Americans live. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A against A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Reston run from A to B-, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 856 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
54% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Reston as a whole, and 46% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Reston scores 856.
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 Reston, VA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Reston, 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 Reston
Burglary is a strength. Reston grades A- for property crime, but burglary grades A+, better than in the neighborhoods where 84% of Americans live.
Aggravated assault runs low. Reston has 0.61 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, a small fraction of the US rate of 2.6.
The safest and least safe parts of Reston
Every part of Reston where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Reston run from A to B-; 50% 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 Reston, the southeast side has the least crime and the northwest side the most.
Crime rates and types in Reston
CrimeGrade™ estimates Reston has about 34 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 9% 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 Reston, about 48% 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.
How Reston compares with nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to Reston, 9 have less crime. Great Falls and Wolf Trap have the least.
Two things set Reston apart: it has 113 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 36 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places with both tend to report more theft and robbery than places with only one of them, and theft runs high here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.113 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 98% 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 Reston: C- (29 of 100).36 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 94% 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. 63% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (30 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 81% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.8 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 83% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.7.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 81% 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 Reston 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 Reston
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Reston about $639 a year per household, 47% 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 $35 million a year, or $555 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.6 million
$26
Rape
$460,000
$7
Robbery
$680,000
$11
Assault
$5.6 million
$88
Burglary
$260,000
$4
Theft
$5.4 million
$84
Vehicle theft
$1.4 million
$22
Arson
$12,000
under $1
Vandalism
$2.2 million
$34
Total
$18 million
$277
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 Reston 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 Reston, VA average a SchoolGrade of B+: 77% of students test proficient, against 58% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Reston on SchoolGrade
