What is the safest city in Virginia?

Based on 2024 FBI data, Purcellville is the safest city in Virginia with a violent crime rate of 22.4 per 100,000 residents.

What is the most dangerous city in Virginia?

Emporia has the highest violent crime rate in Virginia at 1068.9 per 100,000 residents in 2024.

How many cities in Virginia report crime data?

141 cities in Virginia reported crime data to the FBI in 2024.

Safest Cities in Virginia (2024)

Ranked by violent crime rate per 100,000 residents from 2024 FBI data. Virginia has 141 cities reporting crime data, with a statewide violent crime rate of 217.9 per 100K.

141

Cities Tracked

22.4

Safest City Rate

163.5

Median City Rate

1068.9

Highest Rate

Top 25 Safest Cities in Virginia

#	City	Population	Violent Rate	Murder Rate	Property Rate	Grade
1	Purcellville	8,918	22.4	0.0	695.2	A
2	Bridgewater	6,823	29.3	0.0	571.6	A
3	Buena Vista	6,598	45.5	0.0	333.4	B+
4	Wytheville	8,138	61.4	12.3	2727.9	B+
5	Vienna	16,258	61.5	0.0	848.8	B+
6	Blacksburg	45,734	76.5	0.0	715.0	B
7	Manassas Park	16,228	80.1	0.0	764.1	B
8	Salem	25,606	85.9	0.0	1862.8	B
9	Virginia Beach	455,155	92.3	2.9	1639.9	B
10	Warrenton	10,265	97.4	0.0	1285.9	B
11	Falls Church	14,801	101.3	0.0	1520.2	B
12	Big Stone Gap	5,071	118.3	0.0	1557.9	C+
13	Culpeper	21,302	122.1	4.7	1675.9	C+
14	Fairfax City	25,672	128.5	0.0	3303.2	C+
15	Lexington	7,656	130.6	0.0	457.2	C+
16	Abingdon	8,310	132.4	0.0	1564.4	C+
17	Dumfries	5,985	133.7	0.0	1102.8	C+
18	Woodstock	5,983	133.7	16.7	1855.3	C+
19	Staunton	26,151	141.5	7.7	1506.6	C+
20	Vinton	8,044	149.2	12.4	1765.3	C
21	Smithfield	9,137	175.1	0.0	1105.4	C
22	Covington	5,522	181.1	0.0	1285.8	C
23	Bedford	6,819	190.6	0.0	1569.1	C
24	Strasburg	7,312	191.5	0.0	765.9	C
25	Williamsburg	16,098	198.8	6.2	1205.1	D+

Most Dangerous Cities in Virginia

#	City	Population	Violent Rate	Murder Rate	Grade
1	Emporia	5,426	1068.9	18.4	F
2	Petersburg	33,538	1043.6	44.7	F
3	Portsmouth	97,156	752.4	37.0	F
4	Newport News	183,563	736.0	12.0	F
5	Roanoke	97,027	620.4	11.3	F
6	Fredericksburg	29,474	603.9	3.4	F
7	Ashland	7,903	594.7	0.0	F
8	Pulaski	8,818	567.0	11.3	F
9	Farmville	7,477	548.3	0.0	F
10	Norfolk	230,460	469.5	16.1	F
11	South Boston	7,757	464.1	12.9	F
12	Colonial Heights	18,605	462.2	10.8	F
13	Franklin	8,469	460.5	11.8	F
14	Bristol	16,775	435.2	0.0	F
15	Orange	5,249	400.1	0.0	F

All 141 Cities in Virginia

Complete list ranked from safest to most dangerous.

Show all 141 cities

#	City	Pop.	Violent Rate	Grade
1	Mount Jackson	2,023	0.0	A
2	Dayton	1,731	0.0	A
3	Warsaw	1,686	0.0	A
4	Pennington Gap	1,567	0.0	A
5	Rural Retreat	1,524	0.0	A
6	Clarksville	1,303	0.0	A
7	Weber City	1,234	0.0	A
8	Bowling Green	1,182	0.0	A
9	Chatham	1,182	0.0	A
10	Occoquan	1,104	0.0	A
11	Brookneal	1,074	0.0	A
12	Cedar Bluff	989	0.0	A
13	Jonesville	845	0.0	A
14	Pound	836	0.0	A
15	St. Paul	830	0.0	A
16	Grundy	822	0.0	A
17	Parksley	807	0.0	A
18	Wintergreen	503	0.0	A
19	White Stone	388	0.0	A
20	Eastville	290	0.0	A
21	Pocahontas	253	0.0	A
22	Purcellville	8,918	22.4	A
23	Bridgewater	6,823	29.3	A
24	Timberville	3,049	32.8	A
25	Berryville	4,849	41.2	B+
26	Luray	4,829	41.4	B+
27	Buena Vista	6,598	45.5	B+
28	Broadway	4,366	45.8	B+
29	Stephens City	2,146	46.6	B+
30	Saltville	1,766	56.6	B+
31	Stanley	1,704	58.7	B+
32	Wytheville	8,138	61.4	B+
33	Vienna	16,258	61.5	B+
34	Bluefield	4,845	61.9	B+
35	Haymarket	1,578	63.4	B+
36	Coeburn	1,549	64.6	B+
37	Elkton	3,068	65.2	B+
38	Wise	2,861	69.9	B
39	Middletown	1,425	70.2	B
40	Clintwood	1,324	75.5	B
41	Honaker	1,311	76.3	B
42	Blacksburg	45,734	76.5	B
43	Cape Charles	1,295	77.2	B
44	Gretna	1,274	78.5	B
45	Manassas Park	16,228	80.1	B
46	Salem	25,606	85.9	B
47	New Market	2,208	90.6	B
48	Louisa	2,205	90.7	B
49	Virginia Beach	455,155	92.3	B
50	Warrenton	10,265	97.4	B
51	Independence	1,005	99.5	B
52	Falls Church	14,801	101.3	B
53	Pearisburg	2,806	106.9	C+
54	Big Stone Gap	5,071	118.3	C+
55	Shenandoah	2,479	121.0	C+
56	Culpeper	21,302	122.1	C+
57	Chincoteague	3,249	123.1	C+
58	Chilhowie	1,608	124.4	C+
59	Fairfax City	25,672	128.5	C+
60	Lebanon	3,097	129.2	C+
61	Lexington	7,656	130.6	C+
62	Abingdon	8,310	132.4	C+
63	Dumfries	5,985	133.7	C+
64	Woodstock	5,983	133.7	C+
65	West Point	3,574	139.9	C+
66	Rocky Mount	4,990	140.3	C+
67	Hillsville	2,847	140.5	C+
68	Staunton	26,151	141.5	C+
69	Vinton	8,044	149.2	C
70	Waverly	1,932	155.3	C
71	Tazewell	4,282	163.5	C
72	Onancock	1,154	173.3	C
73	Smithfield	9,137	175.1	C
74	Covington	5,522	181.1	C
75	Halifax	1,093	183.0	C
76	Dublin	2,656	188.3	C
77	Amherst	2,114	189.2	C
78	Bedford	6,819	190.6	C
79	Strasburg	7,312	191.5	C
80	Gate City	2,015	198.5	D+
81	Williamsburg	16,098	198.8	D+
82	Windsor	2,950	203.4	D+
83	Clifton Forge	3,339	209.6	D+
84	Blackstone	3,329	210.3	D+
85	Exmore	1,418	211.6	D+
86	Radford	17,399	212.7	D+
87	Alexandria	155,153	219.1	D+
88	Christiansburg	22,297	224.2	D+
89	Norton	3,458	231.3	D+
90	Winchester	27,700	238.3	D+
91	Herndon	25,058	239.4	D+
92	Chase City	2,053	243.5	D+
93	Waynesboro	23,673	245.0	D+
94	Hampton	138,100	247.6	D+
95	Colonial Beach	4,034	247.9	D+
96	Damascus	786	254.5	D+
97	Leesburg	49,626	255.9	D+
98	Grottoes	3,029	264.1	D
99	Pembroke	1,124	266.9	D
100	Harrisonburg	51,270	267.2	D
101	Kenbridge	1,117	268.6	D
102	Altavista	3,316	271.4	D
103	Manassas	43,028	274.2	D
104	Marion	5,576	286.9	D
105	Lawrenceville	1,017	295.0	D
106	Galax	6,770	310.2	D
107	Poquoson	12,788	312.8	D
108	Tappahannock	2,186	320.2	D
109	Front Royal	15,524	335.0	D
110	Richmond	231,805	336.9	D
111	Chesapeake	257,248	339.4	D
112	Victoria	1,749	343.1	D
113	Kilmarnock	1,444	346.3	D
114	Lynchburg	80,339	357.2	D
115	Charlottesville	44,844	359.0	D
116	Danville	41,915	365.0	D
117	Suffolk	103,506	371.0	F
118	Onley	533	375.2	F
119	Hopewell	22,843	380.9	F
120	Martinsville	13,968	386.6	F
121	Richlands	5,037	397.1	F
122	Orange	5,249	400.1	F
123	South Hill	4,949	404.1	F
124	Rich Creek	728	412.1	F
125	Bristol	16,775	435.2	F
126	Franklin	8,469	460.5	F
127	Gordonsville	1,520	460.5	F
128	Colonial Heights	18,605	462.2	F
129	South Boston	7,757	464.1	F
130	Norfolk	230,460	469.5	F
131	Crewe	2,231	493.1	F
132	Glade Spring	1,368	511.7	F
133	Farmville	7,477	548.3	F
134	Pulaski	8,818	567.0	F
135	Ashland	7,903	594.7	F
136	Fredericksburg	29,474	603.9	F
137	Roanoke	97,027	620.4	F
138	Newport News	183,563	736.0	F
139	Portsmouth	97,156	752.4	F
140	Petersburg	33,538	1043.6	F
141	Emporia	5,426	1068.9	F

Crime Composition in Virginia

How violent crime breaks down across cities reporting data in Virginia.

Agg. Assault: 70.4%

Robbery: 16.2%

Rape: 10.6%

Murder: 2.8%

State violent crime rate: 217.9/100K vs national average: 359.1/100K (39% below national average)

About This Data

Crime rates are from the FBI's 2024 Uniform Crime Report, the most recent data available. Rates are per 100,000 residents. Safety grades are based on national percentile ranking — an "A" means the city is safer than 80%+ of all US cities in our database.

Not all cities report to the FBI. Small agencies may have incomplete data. Always consider multiple years of data before drawing conclusions about a city's safety.

→ Most Dangerous Cities in Virginia → Virginia Crime Overview → Safest Cities in America → National Rankings → Safety Score Calculator

National demographic context: Crime and safety vary across racial and ethnic groups. Per-city demographic data is not published by the FBI, but national patterns show significant disparities. Full demographics | Racial disparities

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