The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Waycross, GA
Waycross is a city of 33,300 in Ware County, about 50 miles west of Brunswick · Updated November 2026
Is Waycross, GA safe?
Yes, crime in Waycross is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Waycross sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 55% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Waycross run from A+ to D+, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 861 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
55% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Waycross as a whole, and 45% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Waycross scores 861.
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 Waycross, GA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Waycross, 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 Waycross
Robbery stands out among A-graded cities. For the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 0.13 robberies a year per 1,000 residents; Waycross has 0.51.
Thefts from cars happen at homes far more often than nationally. In Waycross, 75% of reported thefts from cars happen at homes, against 34% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Waycross
Most of Waycross grades well: 88% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 1% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Waycross run from A+ to D+; 61% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
88%11%
A or B 88%C 11%D or F 1%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Waycross, the southwest side has the least crime and the center the most.
Crime rates and types in Waycross
CrimeGrade™ estimates Waycross has about 44 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 19% more than the US as a whole and 22% more than Georgia.
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 45% of crime reported in Waycross. Assault is less common but 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 Waycross
Waycross has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Waycross, 76% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (76%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (69%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (75%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (58%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Robbery
Homes (52%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (70%)
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; they are over one in five for robbery, aggravated assault.
How Waycross compares with nearby cities
Waycross has the most crime of its 5 nearest cities.
Empty homes, parking lots and walkability in Waycross
Two things set Waycross apart: it has 18.2% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 3.3 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary runs high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.18.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 98% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.3 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 89% 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. 89% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (10 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 76% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 88% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.15.3 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 88% 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 Waycross: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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 Waycross
Crime costs Waycross about $1,344 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 11% more 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 $56 million a year, or $1,673 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$2.6 million
$77
Rape
$1.1 million
$33
Robbery
$530,000
$16
Assault
$6.7 million
$201
Burglary
$930,000
$28
Theft
$3.4 million
$101
Vehicle theft
$950,000
$28
Arson
$73,000
$2
Vandalism
$620,000
$18
Total
$17 million
$505
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 Waycross 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 Waycross, GA average a SchoolGrade of A-: 46% of students test proficient, against 46% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Waycross on SchoolGrade
