Washington, DC, the nation's capital, is home to 681,300 residents · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Washington, DC?
Washington, DC has more violent crime than all 50 states, with a CrimeGrade™ of F. Assaults make up 84% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
F
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000More violent crime than all 50 statesi What this means
5% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Washington, DC as a whole, and 95% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Washington, DC 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 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 Washington, DC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Washington, DC, 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 Washington, DC
Robberies run high. Washington, DC has robberies at more than triple the US rate: 4.5 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Washington, DC
Violent crime changes a lot from one part of Washington, DC to the next: 28% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 64% live in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Washington, DC run from A+ to F.
28%64%
A or B 28%C 8%D or F 64%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Is violent crime going up in Washington, DC?
Reported violent crime in Washington, DC has held about steady since 2019, within 4%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults stayed at about 10 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 12%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Washington, DCUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Washington, DC. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Washington, DC
Violent, US
2016
+15%
+4%
2017
-4%
+4%
2018
-5%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+2%
+4%
2021
-9%
+6%
2022
-22%
+5%
2023
+9%
+2%
2024
-4%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Washington, DC
CrimeGrade™ estimates Washington, DC has about 33 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole.
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 Washington, DC, about 84% of the total. Murder and rape are far rarer, but they account for 54% of the cost of violent crime here.
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 Washington, DC
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across District of Columbia, 2022 to 2024.
In District of Columbia, 41% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 48% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (48%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (41%)
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 Washington, DC and nearby states
Washington, DC has the most violent crime of its 8 nearest states.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Washington, DC. Beside each violent crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Density and transit in Washington, DC
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Washington, DC apart: it has 86% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and 80 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places like that tend to report more robbery, and it runs high here.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.86% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 99% of Americans
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Washington, DC: D (13 of 100).80 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 99% 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 violent crime costs Washington, DC
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Washington, DC about $3.20 billion a year, or $4,697 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $644 million, or $946 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 80% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$333 million
$489
Rape
$14 million
$21
Robbery
$96 million
$141
Assault
$200 million
$294
Total
$644 million
$946
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.
