The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Waterbury, CT
Waterbury is the fifth-largest city in Connecticut, with 114,800 residents in Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, about 18 miles north of downtown New Haven · Updated November 2026
Is Waterbury, CT safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B-, Waterbury has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 80% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent crime grades B- and property crime C. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Waterbury run from A to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
B-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 542 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
20% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Waterbury as a whole, and 80% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Waterbury scores 542.
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 Waterbury, CT at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Waterbury, 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 Waterbury
Aggravated assaults are less common than the crime level suggests. Crime overall in Waterbury runs 61% above the US rate, but aggravated assaults run 36% below it: 1.7 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 nationally.
One part of Waterbury stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in Exchange Place & Cass Gilbert, in central Waterbury, run at more than double the rate in the rest of the city.
Thefts from cars happen in the morning far more often than nationally. In Waterbury, 48% of reported thefts from cars happen in the morning (6 am to noon), against 23% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Waterbury
Crime varies widely across Waterbury: 51% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 29% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Waterbury run from A to F; 5% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
51%20%29%
A or B 51%C 20%D or F 29%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Walnut Orange Walsh, eastCar thefts run about 70% higher here than in the rest of Waterbury.C+495
2North Square, northRobberies run at about double the rate in the rest of Waterbury.C393
3Exchange Place & Cass Gilbert, centralAggravated assaults run about 70% higher here than in the rest of Waterbury.D224
Neighborhood areas of Waterbury, 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 Waterbury?
Reported crime in Waterbury has held about steady since 2019: violent crime is up 4% and property crime down 4%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.1 to 3.2 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 30 to 29 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 20%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
WaterburyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Waterbury. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Waterbury
Violent, US
Property, Waterbury
Property, US
2016
+66%
+4%
+27%
+15%
2017
+64%
+4%
+26%
+12%
2018
+46%
+0%
+29%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+16%
+4%
-18%
-8%
2021
+4%
+6%
-4%
-10%
2022
+27%
+5%
-6%
-6%
2023
+31%
+2%
+1%
-7%
2024
+4%
-4%
-4%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Waterbury
CrimeGrade™ estimates Waterbury has about 60 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 61% more than the US as a whole and about double the rate for Connecticut.
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 Waterbury, about 35% 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 Waterbury
Waterbury has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Waterbury, 66% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (66%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Car theft
Homes (39%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Homes (31%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (47%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (39%)
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 Waterbury compares with nearby cities
Of the 8 cities closest to Waterbury, 7 have less crime. Middlebury and Prospect have the least.
Two things set Waterbury apart: it has a Walk Grade of C (32 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 7 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Even so, 56% of residents in Waterbury live in car-dependent areas, where most errands take a car. Places like that tend to report more theft and assault, and they run high here.
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.C (32 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 83% 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 Waterbury: D+ (22 of 100).7 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 77% 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.40% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 76% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.8.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 73% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 69% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.34 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 63% of US city residents
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 Waterbury
Crime costs Waterbury about $1,695 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 41% more than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $75 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 $204 million a year, or $1,779 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$14 million
$124
Rape
$3.0 million
$26
Robbery
$3.8 million
$33
Assault
$18 million
$161
Burglary
$2.4 million
$21
Theft
$12 million
$106
Vehicle theft
$11 million
$98
Arson
$100,000
$1
Vandalism
$9.4 million
$82
Total
$75 million
$652
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 Waterbury 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 Waterbury, CT average a SchoolGrade of D-: 27% of students test proficient, against 26% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Waterbury on SchoolGrade
