Charleston is the capital and largest city of West Virginia, with 74,000 residents in Kanawha County · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Charleston?
Charleston grades B+ for violent crime, with more of it than the neighborhoods where 74% of Americans live. Assaults make up 95% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
B+
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 700 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
26% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Charleston as a whole, and 74% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Charleston scores 700.
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 violent crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its violent crime with the people who spend time there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy downtown or nightlife strip can show red while the homes around it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Charleston, WV at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Charleston, 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 about violent crime in Charleston
Robberies are less common than the crime level suggests. Violent crime in Charleston runs 67% above the US rate, but robberies run 31% below it: 0.43 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Charleston
Most of Charleston grades well for violent crime: 77% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 13% in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Charleston run from A+ to F.
77%10%13%
A or B 77%C 10%D or F 13%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Loudon Heights & South Park, southSimple assaults run at less than half the rate in the rest of Charleston.A879
2Riverview-Blackhawk, eastSimple assaults run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Charleston.B+763
3Edgewood, northClose to the rest of Charleston on most crimes.B+744
4Kanawha City & South Ruffner, southeastClose to the rest of Charleston on most crimes.B+711
5North Charleston, northwestSimple assaults run about 40% higher here than in the rest of Charleston.B623
6Davis Creek & Oakwood, westClose to the rest of Charleston on most crimes.B-606
7East End & West Side, centralAggravated assaults run about 50% higher here than in the rest of Charleston.C+528
Neighborhood areas of Charleston, ranked by violent crime 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.
Violent crime rates and types in Charleston
CrimeGrade™ estimates Charleston has about 22 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 67% more than the US as a whole and more than double the rate for West Virginia.
All violent crime
Assaults
Robbery
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Violent crime here includes simple assaults, which the FBI's violent crime rate leaves out.
Assault is the most common violent crime in Charleston, about 95% of the total.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a violent crime with the people who spend time in an area, not only the people who live there. 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 violent crime happens in Charleston
Charleston has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Charleston, 50% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 35% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (35%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (50%)
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.
Violent crime in Charleston and nearby cities
Of the 4 cities closest to Charleston, 3 have less violent crime. Pinch and South Charleston have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Charleston. Beside each violent crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Charleston has more violent crime than 81% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, one sets Charleston apart: it has 84 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report more robbery; here robbery sits near the national middle.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.84 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 93% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Charleston: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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 assault. 80% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (17 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 53% of US city residents
Show all 4
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.10% of residentsUS: 24%Lower 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 violent crime costs Charleston
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Charleston about $163 million a year, or $2,201 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $34 million, or $463 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 79% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$12 million
$161
Rape
$3.0 million
$40
Robbery
$990,000
$13
Assault
$18 million
$248
Total
$34 million
$463
How CrimeGrade™ works
The violent crime CrimeGrade™ covers murder, rape, robbery and assault, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each violent crime against the people who spend time in an area, so a busy downtown is graded on its workers and visitors as well as its residents.
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.
