Washington, DC, the nation's capital, is home to 681,300 residents · Updated November 2026
Is Washington, DC safe?
Crime in Washington, DC is high, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of F. Most US neighborhoods have far less: 94% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Washington, DC. It has more crime than all 50 states. Violent and property crime both grade F here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Washington, DC run from A to F, so check the map below.
F
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000More crime than all 50 statesi What this means
6% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Washington, DC as a whole, and 94% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Washington, DC scores 0.
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, DC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Washington, DC, 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, DC
Robberies and acts of vandalism both run high. In Washington, DC, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 4.5 robberies and 21.3 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 and 5.5 nationally.
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Washington, DC, 62% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Washington, DC
In Washington, DC, 17% of residents live in areas graded A or B, 6% in areas graded C and 77% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Washington, DC run from A to F; 3% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
17%77%
A or B 17%C 6%D or F 77%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Is crime going up in Washington, DC?
Since 2019, reported property crime in Washington, DC is down 15%, while violent crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults stayed at about 10 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 44 to 37 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 12% and property crime fell 14%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Washington, DCUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Washington, DC. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Washington, DC
Violent, US
Property, Washington, DC
Property, US
2016
+15%
+4%
+8%
+15%
2017
-4%
+4%
-2%
+12%
2018
-5%
+0%
+0%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+2%
+4%
-15%
-8%
2021
-9%
+6%
-5%
-10%
2022
-22%
+5%
-18%
-6%
2023
+9%
+2%
-2%
-7%
2024
-4%
-4%
-15%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Washington, DC
CrimeGrade™ estimates Washington, DC has about 91 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US 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.
Theft makes up about 29% of crime reported in Washington, DC. 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 Washington, DC
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Washington, 2022 to 2024.
In Washington, 40% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (48%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (49%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (62%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (43%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (48%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (41%)
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, DC compares with nearby states
Washington, DC has the most crime of its 8 nearest states.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Washington, DC. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Density, night lighting and transit in Washington, DC
Two things set Washington, DC apart: it has 86% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and 80 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places like that tend to report more robbery and car theft, and they run high here.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.86% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 99% 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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 99% of Americans
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 Washington, DC: D (15 of 100).80 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 99% of Americans
Show all 4
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.9.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 93% 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, DC
Crime costs Washington, DC about $3,001 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, more than double the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $937 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 $3.50 billion a year, or $5,131 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$333 million
$489
Rape
$14 million
$21
Robbery
$96 million
$141
Aggravated assault
$85 million
$125
Simple assault
$115 million
$169
Burglary
$15 million
$22
Theft
$94 million
$137
Vehicle theft
$81 million
$120
Arson
$490,000
$1
Vandalism
$103 million
$151
Total
$937 million
$1,376
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, DC 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, DC average a SchoolGrade of C+: 23% of students test proficient, against 27% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Washington, DC on SchoolGrade
