The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Washington
Washington is home to 7.82 million residents; Olympia is its capital and Seattle its largest city · Updated November 2026
Is Washington safe?
Yes, crime in Washington is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Washington sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 45% of Americans live. It ranks 40th safest of the 50 states and Washington, DC. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A against B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Washington run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe counties and cities below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 812 of 1,00040th safest of the 50 states and DCi What this means
45% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Washington as a whole, and 55% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Washington scores 812.
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 at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Washington, 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
Vehicle theft stands out among A-graded states. For the typical resident of an A-graded US state, the figure is 2.3 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents; Washington has 4.4.
Robberies happen at stores and businesses more often than nationally. In Washington, 48% of reported robberies happen at stores and businesses, against 33% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous counties and cities in Washington
Most of Washington grades well: 77% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 13% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Washington run from A+ to F; 43% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
77%10%13%
A or B 77%C 10%D or F 13%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
All 39 counties, 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.
Cities of 10,000 or more 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.
Is crime going up in Washington?
Reported violent crime in Washington peaked in 2022 and has fallen 14% since, back near its 2019 level. Property crime is down 9% from 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.1 to 3.3 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 27 to 25 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 14%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
WashingtonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Washington. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Washington
Violent, US
Property, Washington
Property, US
2016
-2%
+4%
+27%
+15%
2017
-0%
+4%
+16%
+12%
2018
+3%
+0%
+8%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-2%
+4%
+2%
-8%
2021
+11%
+6%
+11%
-10%
2022
+25%
+5%
+24%
-6%
2023
+18%
+2%
+6%
-7%
2024
+8%
-4%
-9%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Washington
CrimeGrade™ estimates Washington has about 45 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 21% more than 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 is the most common crime in Washington, about 37% 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
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Washington, 2022 to 2024.
In Washington, 46% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 33% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (46%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Homes (35%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (33%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (36%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (48%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (45%)
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 compares with nearby states
Of the 10 states closest to Washington, 7 have less crime. Wyoming and North Dakota have the least.
Transit, empty homes and night lighting in Washington
Two things set Washington apart: it has 17 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby, and 4.9% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery, 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 Washington: D (18 of 100).17 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 94% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.4.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 86% 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.78% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 51% of Americans
Show all 4
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.21% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 51% of Americans
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Washington on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more. Its Walk Grade for Washington is D+ (21 of 100).
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
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Washington about $1,293 a year per household, 7% more than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $3.85 billion 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 $10.53 billion a year, or $1,347 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$565 million
$72
Rape
$181 million
$23
Robbery
$168 million
$21
Assault
$940 million
$120
Burglary
$286 million
$37
Theft
$670 million
$86
Vehicle theft
$532 million
$68
Arson
$29 million
$4
Vandalism
$476 million
$61
Total
$3.85 billion
$492
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 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 average a SchoolGrade of C+: 47% of students test proficient, against 41% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Washington on SchoolGrade
