The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Woodlawn, MD
Woodlawn is an unincorporated community of 41,200 in Baltimore County, about 7 miles west of downtown Baltimore · Updated November 2026
Is Woodlawn, MD safe?
Crime in Woodlawn is high by national standards, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of C+. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 82% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Woodlawn. Violent crime grades B- and property crime C-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Woodlawn run from A- to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
C+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 505 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
18% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Woodlawn as a whole, and 82% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Woodlawn scores 505.
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 Woodlawn, MD at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Woodlawn, 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 Woodlawn
Car thefts run high in Edmondson Heights. In this part of southeast Woodlawn, they run at about triple the rate in the rest of Woodlawn.
Robbery at about triple the US rate. Woodlawn has 1.9 robberies a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Woodlawn
Areas graded C are home to 45% of residents in Woodlawn; 28% live in areas graded A or B and 27% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Woodlawn run from A- to F; every part of Woodlawn has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.
28%45%27%
A or B 28%C 45%D or F 27%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Parkview Trail, westThefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Woodlawn.B+719
2Westerlee & Ellicott Mills, southwestCar thefts run at about half the rate in the rest of Woodlawn.B+713
3Chadwick Manor, northwestRobberies run about 40% higher here than in the rest of Woodlawn.B-540
4Westview Park, southThefts run about 60% higher here than in the rest of Woodlawn.C394
5Howard Park, northeastAggravated assaults run about 70% higher here than in the rest of Woodlawn.D+285
6Colonial Park, eastThefts run at more than double the rate in the rest of Woodlawn.D186
7Edmondson Heights, southeastThefts run at about triple the rate in the rest of Woodlawn.F0
Neighborhood areas of Woodlawn, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Crime rates and types in Woodlawn
CrimeGrade™ estimates Woodlawn has about 83 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and about double the rate for Maryland.
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 Woodlawn, about 35% 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.
How Woodlawn compares with nearby cities
Of the 9 cities closest to Woodlawn, 5 have less crime. Ellicott City and Catonsville have the least.
Two things set Woodlawn apart: it has 12 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby, and 3.8% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. It also combines many jobs with busy transit: places with both tend to report more theft and robbery than places with only one of them, and they run high here.
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 Woodlawn: D+ (22 of 100).12 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 87% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.13.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 80% 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. 83% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (16 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 56% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.3.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 77% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.60 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 76% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.30% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 69% 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 Woodlawn
Crime costs Woodlawn about $2,328 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 93% more 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 $87 million a year, or $2,122 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$4.2 million
$102
Rape
$990,000
$24
Robbery
$2.5 million
$61
Assault
$11 million
$269
Burglary
$780,000
$19
Theft
$6.1 million
$148
Vehicle theft
$5.1 million
$124
Arson
$230,000
$6
Vandalism
$4.3 million
$105
Total
$35 million
$858
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 Woodlawn 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 Woodlawn, MD average a SchoolGrade of D: 25% of students test proficient, against 26% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Woodlawn on SchoolGrade
