The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in West Memphis, AR
West Memphis is a city of 24,000 in Crittenden County, about 7 miles west of downtown Memphis · Updated November 2026
Is West Memphis, AR safe?
Crime in West Memphis is high, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of F. Most US neighborhoods have far less: 96% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than West Memphis. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, B- against F. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within West Memphis run from A- to F, so check the map below.
F
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000Less safe than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
4% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than West Memphis as a whole, and 96% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. West Memphis scores 0.
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 Memphis, AR at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in West Memphis, 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 Memphis
Reported rape stands out among F-graded cities. For the typical resident of an F-graded US city, the figure is 0.34 reported rapes a year per 1,000 residents; West Memphis has 1.2.
One weak spot: burglary. It grades C- in West Memphis, worse than in the neighborhoods where 95% of Americans live, against B- for property crime as a whole.
The safest and least safe parts of West Memphis
High crime is widespread across West Memphis: 77% of residents live in areas graded D or F, and 6% in areas graded A or B. Grades across West Memphis run from A- to F; 1% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
17%77%
A or B 6%C 17%D or F 77%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within West Memphis, the northwest side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in West Memphis?
Reported violent crime in West Memphis peaked in 2021 and has fallen 29% since, back near its 2019 level. Property crime is down 7% from 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 20 to 19 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 51 to 47 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 22%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
West MemphisUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves West Memphis. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, West Memphis
Violent, US
Property, West Memphis
Property, US
2016
-3%
+4%
-5%
+15%
2017
-8%
+4%
+4%
+12%
2018
+1%
+0%
+2%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+26%
+4%
-10%
-8%
2021
+38%
+6%
-20%
-10%
2022
+34%
+5%
-5%
-6%
2023
+25%
+2%
-4%
-7%
2024
-2%
-4%
-8%
-15%
Crime rates and types in West Memphis
CrimeGrade™ estimates West Memphis has about 86 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and 81% more than Arkansas.
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 West Memphis, about 38% 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.
The West Memphis Police Department's 2024 report of burglary had a month far out of line with the rest, a sign of a data-entry error or a catch-up month, so CrimeGrade™ set it aside and used the other months.
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 West Memphis
West Memphis has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In West Memphis, 71% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 34% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (71%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Car theft
Homes (46%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (34%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (50%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (32%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (61%)
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 West Memphis compares with nearby cities
West Memphis has less crime than 1 of its 2 nearest cities; only Marion has less.
Empty homes, parking lots and walkability in West Memphis
Two things set West Memphis apart: it has 15.8% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 6% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary and vandalism run high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.15.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 97% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.7 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 79% 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. 77% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (20 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 59% 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.6% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 71% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.11.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 65% 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.99% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 64% 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 Memphis
Crime costs West Memphis about $5,465 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, more than 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 $280 million a year, or $11,668 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$28 million
$1,184
Rape
$1.7 million
$71
Robbery
$1.4 million
$60
Assault
$13 million
$553
Burglary
$1.8 million
$74
Theft
$3.5 million
$147
Vehicle theft
$2.1 million
$86
Arson
$91,000
$4
Vandalism
$1.2 million
$50
Total
$53 million
$2,229
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 Memphis 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 Memphis, AR average a SchoolGrade of F: 16% of students test proficient, against 20% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in West Memphis on SchoolGrade
