The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Washington County, VT
Washington County, the third-most populous county in Vermont, is home to 60,000 residents and includes Barre and Montpelier · Updated November 2026
Is Washington County, VT safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Washington County has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A, safer than the neighborhoods where 73% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A+ and property crime A. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Washington County run from A+ to B-, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 919 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
73% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Washington County as a whole, and 27% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Washington County scores 919.
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 Washington County, VT at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Washington County, 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 Washington County
Reported rapes run above the US rate. Washington County has less crime than the US as a whole, 22% below the US rate, but more reported rapes: 0.58 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.38 nationally.
Vehicle theft runs low. Washington County has 0.51 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents, a small fraction of the US rate of 2.7.
The safest and most dangerous places in Washington County
Every part of Washington County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Washington County run from A+ to B-; 82% 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.
Cities and towns in Washington County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the north side has the least crime and the Barre area the most.
Is crime going up in Washington County?
Reported crime in Washington County has held about steady since 2019: violent crime is up 1% and property crime up 4%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults stayed at about 2.4 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 14 to 15 (US: 18). Neither changed much from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Washington CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Washington County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Washington County
Violent, US
Property, Washington County
Property, US
2016
-46%
+4%
+21%
+15%
2017
+6%
+4%
+35%
+12%
2018
+14%
+0%
+1%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-11%
+4%
-15%
-8%
2021
-7%
+6%
-20%
-10%
2022
-1%
+5%
-12%
-6%
2023
+2%
+2%
+4%
-7%
2024
+1%
-4%
+4%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Washington County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Washington County has about 29 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 22% less than the US as a whole and close to Vermont.
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 Washington County, about 50% 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 Washington County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Washington County, 2022 to 2024.
In Washington County, 53% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 35% of them, against 18% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (53%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Car theft
Homes (43%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (35%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (31%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Aggravated assault
Homes (51%)
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 Washington County compares with nearby counties
Washington County has more crime than 8 of its 10 nearest counties. Orange County and Addison County have the least crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Washington County. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Washington County has more crime than 59% of them.
Shops, night lighting and walkability in Washington County
Two things set Washington County apart: it has 24% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally, and a Walk Grade of D (12 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft and vandalism, and vandalism runs low here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.14.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 96% of Americans
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.24% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 96% of Americans
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. 86% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (12 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 72% of Americans
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.7% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 71% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.50 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 68% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.5.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 65% of Americans
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 Washington County
Crime costs Washington County about $721 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 40% 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 $61 million a year, or $1,020 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$3.4 million
$56
Rape
$2.1 million
$35
Robbery
$280,000
$5
Assault
$5.3 million
$88
Burglary
$590,000
$10
Theft
$4.5 million
$75
Vehicle theft
$470,000
$8
Arson
$190,000
$3
Vandalism
$1.9 million
$31
Total
$19 million
$311
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 Washington County 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 Washington County, VT average a SchoolGrade of B+: 50% of students test proficient, against 48% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Washington County on SchoolGrade
