Welch is a city of 4,200 in McDowell County · Updated November 2026
Is Welch, WV safe?
Welch has more crime than most of the country: an overall CrimeGrade™ of C+, with more crime than the neighborhoods where 81% of Americans live. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A- against C-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Welch run from A- to B-, so check the map below.
C+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 532 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
19% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Welch as a whole, and 81% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Welch scores 532.
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 Welch, WV at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Welch, 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
Crime rates and types in Welch
CrimeGrade™ estimates Welch has about 45 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 22% more than the US as a whole and 85% more than West Virginia.
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.
Assault is the most common crime in Welch, about 42% of everything reported.
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.
Empty homes, night lighting and walkability in Welch
Two things set Welch apart: it has 27.0% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 47% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally. Places with many empty homes 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.27.0% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 99% of US city residents
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.47% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 88% 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. 94% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (7 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 85% of US city residents
Show all 6
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 Welch: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.13.3 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 78% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.3 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 67% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Welch on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Welch
Crime costs Welch about $3,717 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, about triple 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 $21 million a year, or $4,943 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$2.2 million
$529
Rape
$180,000
$43
Robbery
$10,000
$2
Assault
$980,000
$233
Burglary
$130,000
$31
Theft
$360,000
$87
Vehicle theft
$47,000
$11
Arson
$37,000
$9
Vandalism
$110,000
$27
Total
$4.1 million
$973
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 Welch 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 Welch, WV average a SchoolGrade of F: 19% of students test proficient, against 23% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Welch on SchoolGrade
