South West, Washington, DC Violent Crime Rates and Maps
South West is a neighborhood of 16,400 residents in Washington, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in South West?
Violent crime is high in South West: a C, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 87% of Americans live. Assaults make up 88% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury. Washington as a whole grades F for violent crime.
C
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 451 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
13% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than South West as a whole, and 87% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. South West scores 451.
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 South West, Washington, DC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in South West in Washington, 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 South West
Robbery at more than triple the US rate. South West has 3.5 robberies a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
How South West compares within Washington
Violent crime changes a lot from one part of South West to the next: 36% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 52% live in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across South West run from B+ to F.
36%12%52%
A or B 36%C 12%D or F 52%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
South West has less violent crime than 22 of the 38 neighborhoods in Washington. It covers much of the Capitol Hill, South West, and Congress Heights areas.
Violent crime rates and types in South West
CrimeGrade™ estimates South West has about 34 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and close to Washington 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 South West, about 88% 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.
Violent crime in South West and nearby neighborhoods
South West has less violent crime than 6 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from South West. Beside each violent crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with neighborhoods of similar size and density, South West has more violent crime than 63% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set South West apart: it has 162 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby, and 230 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places with both tend to report more robbery than places with only one of them, and it runs high here.
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for South West: C- (28 of 100).162 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 99% of residents of US city neighborhoods
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.230 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 96% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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. 72% of residents here live in walkable areas.A (80 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 84% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.1.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 90% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 South West
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs South West about $61 million a year, or $3,747 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $13 million, or $802 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
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.
