West is a neighborhood of 38,200 residents in Raleigh, about 4 miles west of downtown · Updated November 2026
Is West in Raleigh safe?
Crime in West is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 68% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than West. Violent crime grades B+ and property crime B. Raleigh as a whole grades B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within West run from A to D, so check the map below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 710 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
32% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than West as a whole, and 68% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. West scores 710.
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, Raleigh, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in West in Raleigh, 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
Car thefts happen at homes far more often than nationally. In Raleigh as a whole, 58% of reported car thefts happen at homes, against 33% nationally.
How West compares within Raleigh
Most of West grades well: 81% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 2% in areas graded D or F. Grades across West run from A to D; 4% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
81%17%
A or B 81%C 17%D or F 2%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
West has less crime than 10 of the 18 neighborhoods in Raleigh. It covers much of the West and Southwest Raleigh areas.
Is crime going up in Raleigh?
Reported crime in Raleigh as a whole has risen since 2019: violent crime is up 50% and property crime up 44%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.2 to 4.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 19 to 28 (US: 18). Neither changed much from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
RaleighUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments that serve Raleigh. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Raleigh
Violent, US
Property, Raleigh
Property, US
2016
+16%
+4%
+18%
+15%
2017
+19%
+4%
+17%
+12%
2018
-6%
+0%
+2%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+29%
+4%
+11%
-8%
2021
+50%
+6%
+15%
-10%
2022
+58%
+5%
+23%
-6%
2023
+64%
+2%
+34%
-7%
2024
+50%
-4%
+44%
-15%
Crime rates and types in West
CrimeGrade™ estimates West has about 56 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 52% more than the US as a whole and close to Raleigh as a whole.
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, about 34% 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.
Where and when crime happens in Raleigh
The Raleigh Police Department polices West; these figures cover Raleigh as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Raleigh as a whole, 63% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 53% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (63%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Homes (58%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (53%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (45%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (33%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (46%)
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 compares with nearby neighborhoods
West has less crime than 6 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Two things set West apart: it has tree cover over 39% of the land where people live, against 21% nationally, and 12.9% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places with a lot of tree cover tend to report less robbery, yet robbery runs higher here than that would suggest.
Tree coverThe share of land under tree canopy where people live. Leafy neighborhoods tend to report less robbery.39% where people liveUS: 21%Higher than for 97% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 92% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 (15 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 83% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.12.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 89% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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
Crime costs West about $1,218 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, about the same as 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 $64 million a year, or $1,673 per resident.
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 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. West is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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
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, Raleigh, NC average a SchoolGrade of A-: 61% of students test proficient, against 52% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in West on SchoolGrade
