The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Williamsburg City, VA
Williamsburg is an independent city of 15,800 residents, outside any county · Updated November 2026
Is Williamsburg City, VA safe?
Yes, crime in Williamsburg City is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Williamsburg City sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 51% 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 840 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
51% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Williamsburg City as a whole, and 49% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Williamsburg City scores 840.
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 Williamsburg City, VA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Williamsburg City, 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 Williamsburg City
Thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In Williamsburg City, 67% of reported thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages, against 31% nationally.
Aggravated assault runs low. Williamsburg City has 1.3 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, about half the US rate of 2.6.
The safest and least safe parts of Williamsburg City
Every part of Williamsburg City where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Williamsburg City run from A to A-; 41% 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.
Across the county, the southwest side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Williamsburg City?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Williamsburg City is up 21% and property crime is down 23%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.8 to 2.2 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 23 to 18 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 14%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Williamsburg CityUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Williamsburg City. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Williamsburg City
Violent, US
Property, Williamsburg City
Property, US
2016
+31%
+4%
+43%
+15%
2017
+8%
+4%
+6%
+12%
2018
+0%
+0%
+13%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-17%
+4%
-24%
-8%
2021
+74%
+6%
-21%
-10%
2022
+34%
+5%
+5%
-6%
2023
+48%
+2%
-10%
-7%
2024
+22%
-4%
-23%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Williamsburg City
CrimeGrade™ estimates Williamsburg City has about 32 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 14% less than the US as a whole and close to 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.
Theft is the most common crime in Williamsburg City, about 36% 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 Williamsburg City
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Williamsburg City, 2022 to 2024.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (67%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Parking lots and garages (39%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (37%)
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 theft from cars.
How Williamsburg City compares with nearby counties
Of the 10 counties closest to Williamsburg City, 8 have less crime. Surry County and Charles City County have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Williamsburg City. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Williamsburg City has more crime than 65% of them.
Two things set Williamsburg City apart: it has 23.8 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 78 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report more theft, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.23.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 99% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.78 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 98% of Americans
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. 64% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (29 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 84% of Americans
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.31% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 73% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.7.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 70% of Americans
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.95% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 67% of Americans
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 Williamsburg City
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Williamsburg City about $1,044 a year per household, 13% 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 $16 million a year, or $1,032 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.0 million
$64
Rape
$440,000
$28
Robbery
$120,000
$7
Assault
$1.7 million
$108
Burglary
$88,000
$6
Theft
$920,000
$58
Vehicle theft
$99,000
$6
Arson
$15,000
$1
Vandalism
$870,000
$55
Total
$5.3 million
$333
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 Williamsburg City 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 Williamsburg City, VA average a SchoolGrade of B+: 78% of students test proficient, against 51% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Williamsburg City on SchoolGrade
