Nicholas County is home to 24,300 residents and includes Summersville and Richwood · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Nicholas County?
Violent crime in Nicholas County sits near the national middle: an A, safer than the neighborhoods where 60% of Americans live. Assaults make up 95% of it, most of them aggravated assaults, which involve a weapon or a serious injury.
A
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 893 of 1,000About as much violent crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
60% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Nicholas County as a whole, and 40% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Nicholas County scores 893.
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 Nicholas County, WV at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Nicholas County, 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 Nicholas County
One weak spot: aggravated assault. It grades B+ in Nicholas County, worse than in the neighborhoods where 69% of Americans live, against A for violent crime as a whole.
Simple assaults are uncommon. Nicholas County has simple assaults at less than half the US rate: 3.5 a year per 1,000 residents, against 9.7 nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Nicholas County
Low violent crime is the norm across Nicholas County: 91% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 9% in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Nicholas County run from A+ to F.
91%
A or B 91%D or F 9%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Nicholas County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by violent crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Is violent crime going up in Nicholas County?
Reported violent crime in Nicholas County peaked in 2020 and has fallen 23% since, back near its 2019 level. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 5.9 to 6.4 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 33%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Nicholas CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Nicholas County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Nicholas County
Violent, US
2016
+8%
+4%
2017
+30%
+4%
2018
+34%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+42%
+4%
2021
+32%
+6%
2022
-26%
+5%
2023
-18%
+2%
2024
+9%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Nicholas County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Nicholas County has about 9.4 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 30% less than the US as a whole and close to 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 Nicholas County, 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 Nicholas County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Nicholas County, 2022 to 2024.
In Nicholas County, 84% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Aggravated assault
Homes (84%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Violent crime in Nicholas County and nearby counties
Of the 10 counties closest to Nicholas County, 9 have less violent crime. Webster County and Pocahontas County have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Nicholas County. Beside each violent crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Nicholas County has more violent crime than 89% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Nicholas County apart: it has 0% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and 28 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less robbery.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.under 1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 97% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.28 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 90% 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 Nicholas County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% 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 Nicholas County
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Nicholas County about $59 million a year, or $2,435 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $9.9 million, or $406 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 83% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$5.0 million
$204
Rape
$470,000
$20
Robbery
$12,000
under $1
Assault
$4.4 million
$182
Total
$9.9 million
$406
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.
