The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in West Melbourne, FL
West Melbourne is a city of 29,200 in Brevard County, about 4 miles west of downtown Melbourne · Updated November 2026
Is West Melbourne, FL safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and West Melbourne has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A, safer than the neighborhoods where 61% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A here. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A-; see the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 882 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
61% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than West Melbourne as a whole, and 39% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. West Melbourne scores 882.
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 West Melbourne, FL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in West Melbourne, 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 West Melbourne
Car thefts and acts of vandalism both run low. In West Melbourne, each runs at less than half the US rate: 0.82 car thefts and 2.0 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 5.5 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of West Melbourne
Every part of West Melbourne where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across West Melbourne run from A+ to A-; 95% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within West Melbourne, the southwest side has the least crime and the east side the most.
Is crime going up in West Melbourne?
Reported violent crime in West Melbourne peaked in 2022 and has fallen 37% since, back near its 2019 level. Property crime is down 47% from 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.4 to 1.5 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 22 to 12 (US: 18). Neither changed much from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
West MelbourneUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves West Melbourne. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, West Melbourne
Violent, US
Property, West Melbourne
Property, US
2016
+16%
+4%
+26%
+15%
2017
+45%
+4%
+26%
+12%
2018
-11%
+0%
+10%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+36%
+4%
-33%
-8%
2021
+48%
+6%
-43%
-10%
2022
+76%
+5%
-37%
-6%
2023
+30%
+2%
-41%
-7%
2024
+10%
-4%
-47%
-15%
Crime rates and types in West Melbourne
CrimeGrade™ estimates West Melbourne has about 26 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 31% less than the US as a whole and 16% less than Florida.
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 West Melbourne, about 48% 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.
The West Melbourne Police Department's 2024 counts of burglary and vehicle theft fell far below their usual levels, a sign of a reporting break, so CrimeGrade™ used the department's earlier years instead.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
How West Melbourne compares with nearby cities
Of the 9 cities closest to West Melbourne, 7 have less crime. Grant-Valkaria and Malabar have the least.
Shops, parking lots and walkability in West Melbourne
Two things set West Melbourne apart: it has 16.9 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 3.3 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft; here theft sits near the national middle.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.16.9 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 92% 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. 88% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (13 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 64% 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.7% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 68% 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 West Melbourne: F (4 of 100).5 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 68% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.48 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 59% 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 West Melbourne
Crime costs West Melbourne about $637 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 47% 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 $19 million a year, or $644 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$830,000
$28
Rape
$310,000
$11
Robbery
$210,000
$7
Assault
$2.7 million
$93
Burglary
$330,000
$11
Theft
$1.9 million
$63
Vehicle theft
$370,000
$13
Arson
$14,000
under $1
Vandalism
$420,000
$14
Total
$7.0 million
$241
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 West Melbourne 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 West Melbourne, FL average a SchoolGrade of C+: 57% of students test proficient, against 43% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in West Melbourne on SchoolGrade
