The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Watervliet, NY
Watervliet is a city of 19,300 in Albany County, about 6 miles north of downtown Albany · Updated November 2026
Is Watervliet, NY safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+, Watervliet has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 66% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent crime grades B+ and property crime B. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Watervliet run from A+ to C-, so check the map below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 737 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
34% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Watervliet as a whole, and 66% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Watervliet scores 737.
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 Watervliet, NY at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Watervliet, 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 Watervliet
Car thefts and aggravated assaults both run low. In Watervliet, each runs at about half the US rate: 1.3 car thefts and 1.4 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 2.6 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Watervliet
Most of Watervliet grades well: 88% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Watervliet run from A+ to C-; 35% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
88%12%
A or B 88%C 12%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Watervliet, the northwest side has the least crime and the east side the most.
Is crime going up in Watervliet?
Reported property crime in Watervliet has held about steady since 2019, within 5%. Too few violent crimes are reported here each year for a reliable violent crime trend. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 20 to 21 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime rose 15%.
Property crime, change since 2019
WatervlietUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Watervliet. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Watervliet
Property, US
2016
-1%
+15%
2017
+2%
+12%
2018
+12%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-16%
-8%
2021
-37%
-10%
2022
-14%
-6%
2023
-9%
-7%
2024
+5%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Watervliet
CrimeGrade™ estimates Watervliet has about 39 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 6% more than the US as a whole and close to New York.
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 Watervliet, about 42% 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 Watervliet compares with nearby cities
Watervliet has more crime than 8 of its 10 nearest cities. Wynantskill and Waterford have the least crime nearby.
Two things set Watervliet apart: it has 4.5 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 20 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft, yet theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.4.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 93% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.20 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 87% 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. 72% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (22 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 67% 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.9.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher 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 Watervliet: D+ (24 of 100).8 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 79% 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.43% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 79% 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 Watervliet
Crime costs Watervliet about $764 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 37% 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 $18 million a year, or $953 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$890,000
$46
Rape
$430,000
$23
Robbery
$320,000
$16
Assault
$1.9 million
$101
Burglary
$540,000
$28
Theft
$1.6 million
$86
Vehicle theft
$390,000
$20
Arson
$27,000
$1
Vandalism
$990,000
$51
Total
$7.2 million
$373
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 Watervliet 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 Watervliet, NY average a SchoolGrade of B-: 58% of students test proficient, against 59% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Watervliet on SchoolGrade
