Roanoke is the ninth-largest city in Virginia, with 119,700 residents in Roanoke City · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Roanoke?
Violent crime is high in Roanoke: a B-, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 83% 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 568 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
17% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Roanoke as a whole, and 83% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Roanoke scores 568.
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 Roanoke, VA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Roanoke, 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 Roanoke
Aggravated assaults run high in Downtown Roanoke & Loudon-Melrose. In this part of central Roanoke, they run at more than double the rate in the rest of Roanoke.
Simple assault at more than double the US rate. Roanoke has 24.7 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 9.7 nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Roanoke
Violent crime changes a lot from one part of Roanoke to the next: 56% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 31% live in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Roanoke run from A+ to F.
56%13%31%
A or B 56%C 13%D or F 31%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Raleigh Court, Deyerle & Colonial Avenue, southwestAggravated assaults run at less than half the rate in the rest of Roanoke.A-828
2South Roanoke, Wasena & Southern Hills, southSimple assaults run at about half the rate in the rest of Roanoke.B+769
3Garden City, Morningside & Riverdale, southeastSimple assaults run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Roanoke.B+759
4Preston Park, Williamson Road & Mecca Gardens, northeastAggravated assaults run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Roanoke.B+709
5Roundhill, Melrose-Rugby & Washington Park, northClose to the rest of Roanoke on most crimes.C+499
6Peters Creek North, South Washington Heights & Peachtree-Norwood, northwestRobberies run about 40% higher here than in the rest of Roanoke.C-362
7Belmont & Kenwood, eastSimple assaults run at about double the rate in the rest of Roanoke.D+297
8Cherry Hill, Shenandoah West & Wilmont, westAggravated assaults run about 60% higher here than in the rest of Roanoke.D+231
9Downtown Roanoke & Loudon-Melrose, centralRobberies run at about double the rate in the rest of Roanoke.F0
Neighborhood areas of Roanoke, 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.
Is violent crime going up in Roanoke?
Reported violent crime in Roanoke has risen 57% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.9 to 6.2 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). Violent crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
RoanokeUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Roanoke. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Roanoke
Violent, US
2016
+6%
+4%
2017
+4%
+4%
2018
+12%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+15%
+4%
2021
+25%
+6%
2022
+56%
+5%
2023
+50%
+2%
2024
+57%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Roanoke
CrimeGrade™ estimates Roanoke has about 30 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and more than double the rate for 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 Roanoke, about 95% of the total. Murder and rape are far rarer, but they account for 41% 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 Roanoke
Roanoke has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Roanoke, 52% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often at stores and businesses: 34% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Stores and businesses (34%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (52%)
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 Roanoke and nearby cities
Roanoke has the most violent crime of its 8 nearest cities.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, one sets Roanoke apart: it has 64 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report more robbery, and it runs high here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.64 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 81% 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 Roanoke: D (14 of 100).4 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 66% 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. 73% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (22 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 65% 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 60% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Roanoke on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Roanoke
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Roanoke about $269 million a year, or $2,248 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $62 million, or $522 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 77% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$20 million
$169
Rape
$5.5 million
$46
Robbery
$2.8 million
$23
Assault
$34 million
$284
Total
$62 million
$522
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
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.
