There are things more dangerous than being bitten by a blue crab on Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay in Old Dominion.
Turns out, Virginia has its fair share of dangerous cities.
How do you navigate these dangerous Virginia cities when making an informed decision on where to call home?
We did the work for you. Using Saturday Night Science, we looked at violent and property crimes per capita in the 62 cities with a population of at least 5,000. Like all states, some Virginia cities are bound to be more dangerous than others.
752 violent crimes /100k · 3,861 property crimes /100k · #3 most violent in Virginia
Located in
Portsmouth city, VirginiaIf you thought having a a whole bunch of battleships around would make Portsmouth any safer, think again. Portsmouth ranked #3 in both violent and property crime in Virginia for 2026, with an overall crime rate three times higher than the statewide average.
Residents faced a 1 in 132 chance of being the victim of an attack, murder, or rape reported in 2024, so it’s not a bad idea to keep your guard up on the streets of Portsmouth.
You also want to keep your doors locked in Portsmouth because the city had the third highest burglary rate in Virginia, with 412 cases recorded over the year.
Portsmouth is located on the west bank of the Elizabeth River, across from Norfolk.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
620 violent crimes /100k · 4,056 property crimes /100k · #5 most violent in Virginia
Located in
Roanoke city, VirginiaRoanoke is the commercial hub of Southwest Virginia and also one of the state’s most dangerous cities.
Property crime is disturbingly high in Roanoke. To give you an idea, a resident living in Roanoke had a 1 in 24 shot of having their stuff stolen or damaged in 2024. And with the fourth highest burglary rate in Virginia, we hope there’s enough security at Roanoke’s museums to stave off any would-be heists.
On top of property crime, Roanoke experienced about one murder a month on average, so keeping your guard up here is just good protocol.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1,069 violent crimes /100k · 2,893 property crimes /100k · #1 most violent in Virginia
Located in
Emporia city, VirginiaUltimately, the word “Emporia” harkens back to ancient Carthage. However, that’s not quite the source of this town’s name. Instead, the moniker comes from a town Kansas — not quite as fancy a namesake. (Well, maybe that’s still fancy, depending on your view of Kansas).
Wherever the name comes from, this town in south-central Virginia, sits along I-95, about 15 minutes north of the North Carolina border. Fleeing the jurisdiction quickly might be part of the appeal for certain residents of Emporia. After all, this town endures high rate of larceny, robbery and arson.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
548 violent crimes /100k · 3,544 property crimes /100k · #9 most violent in Virginia
Located in
Prince Edward County, VirginiaFarmville, in Virginia’s Cumberland County, has a population of 7,477. However, recent statistics reveal that this locale ranks as the fourth most dangerous place to live in Virginia. The last reporting year saw a distressing rise in violent crimes, with 41 reported incidents.
In addition to violent crime, Farmville’s property crime rates are also cause for concern. The town reported 265 instances of property-related crimes, earning it the 5 spot in the state for this category.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
469 violent crimes /100k · 3,772 property crimes /100k · #10 most violent in Virginia
Located in
Norfolk city, VirginiaVirginia’s 4th most populous city, Norfolk, also ranks as the state’s fifth most dangerous city.
Violent crime is especially bad in Norfolk, where residents had a 1 in 213 chance of being the victim of an assault, rape, or murder in 2024. That’s the kind of thing that makes it hard to stop and smell the flowers at Norfolk Botanical Garden.
That being said, Norfolk is a city of 230,460, so if you steer clear of the worst neighborhoods in Norfolk, you should be as safe as houses.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
1,044 violent crimes /100k · 2,889 property crimes /100k · #2 most violent in Virginia
Located in
Petersburg city, VirginiaLocated just south of the Appomattox River from Colonial Heights (and also one of the Tri-Cities), Petersburg has a bigger problem with violent crime than its northern neighbor.
Petersburg experienced 15 murders in 2024, which gave it the highest murder rate in Virginia. Overall, residents faced a 1 in 95 shot of being the victim of an attack over the year.
Makes you wonder if the Petersburg National Battlefield Park is a memorial site or a testament to day-to-day life in Petersburg.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
604 violent crimes /100k · 3,071 property crimes /100k · #6 most violent in Virginia
Located in
Fredericksburg city, VirginiaLocated in Virginia, the city of Fredericksburg ranks as the seventh most dangerous place to live in the state for 2026. With a population of 29,474, Fredericksburg has experienced concerning crime statistics contributing to its reputation as a dangerous area. The city has witnessed 178 violent crimes. Additionally, 905 property crimes, such as burglaries, have been reported.
Located near the Rappahannock River and with its historical significance during the colonial era and the Civil War, Fredericksburg possesses unique assets that can be leveraged to enhance safety and attract visitors. By working together, residents and authorities can strive towards making Fredericksburg a safer place for all its residents.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
462 violent crimes /100k · 3,182 property crimes /100k · #12 most violent in Virginia
Located in
Colonial Heights city, VirginiaA part of the Tri-City area a half-hour south of Richmond, Colonial Heights comes in as Virginia’s eighth most dangerous city for 2026.
Property crime is all too common in Colonial Heights. Residents had a 1 in 31 chance of being having their stuff stolen or damaged in 2024.
It’s not just stolen bikes and a few broken windows either — Colonial Heights also had the 39th highest rate of rape cases in Virginia for 2024.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
435 violent crimes /100k · 3,028 property crimes /100k · #14 most violent in Virginia
Located in
Bristol city, VirginiaBristol is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,835. It is the twin city of Bristol, Tennessee, just across the state line, which runs down the middle of its main street, State Street. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Bristol, Virginia, with neighboring Washington County, Virginia, for statistical purposes. Bristol is a principal city of the Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area – commonly known as the “Tri-Cities” region.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
736 violent crimes /100k · 2,416 property crimes /100k · #4 most violent in Virginia
Located in
Newport News city, VirginiaLocated on the peninsula side of Hampton Roads in the Tidewater region of Virginia, Newport News ranks as the state’s tenth most dangerous city.
While Newport News is home to a the Virginia War Museum, the real violence is going down on the city’s streets. Folks in Newport News had a 1 in 135 chance of being the victim of a violent crime in 2024.
On the bright side, property crime in Newport News ranks as the lowest on this list. Now if they could cut down on aggravated assaults, they’ll be off this list by next year.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Virginia’s statewide median.
On the map
Where crime hits hardest in Virginia
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the most dangerous cities in Virginia for 2026?
Every year the FBI release two crime datasets on cities in Virginia. First a preliminary dataset limited to the biggest cities in Virginia, followed by a more detailed release at the end of the year.
For our analysis, we focused on the 2024 data, specifically the 2024 Crime In The United States Report for Virginia.
So what criteria did we use? Have a look:
- Violent Crimes Per Capita
- Property Crimes Per Capita
In order to make the analysis as apples to apples as possible, we only considered Virginia cities over 5,000 in population. That left us with 62 cities in Virginia.
We then ranked each city from 1 to 62 for the two criteria with a #1 ranking being the most dangerous for the particular criteria.
Next, we averaged the two rankings into one “Dangerous Index”.
Finally, we ranked every city on the “Dangerous Index” with the lowest index being the most dangerous in Virginia — Portsmouth. Any ties went to the smaller city.
This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. It is our eleventh time ranking the most dangerous places to live in Virginia and is updated for 2026.
The full plate
Crime By City In Virginia
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Dangerous Index | Population | Total Crimes Per 100K | Violent Crimes Per 100K | Property Crimes Per 100K | Murders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portsmouth | 3.00 | 97,156 | 4,613 | 752 | 3,861 | 36 |
| 2 | Roanoke | 3.50 | 97,027 | 4,676 | 620 | 4,056 | 11 |
| 3 | Emporia | 6.50 | 5,426 | 3,962 | 1,069 | 2,893 | 1 |
| 4 | Farmville | 7.00 | 7,477 | 4,093 | 548 | 3,544 | 0 |
| 5 | Norfolk | 7.00 | 230,460 | 4,242 | 469 | 3,772 | 37 |
| 6 | Petersburg | 7.50 | 33,538 | 3,933 | 1,044 | 2,889 | 15 |
| 7 | Fredericksburg | 8.00 | 29,474 | 3,674 | 604 | 3,071 | 1 |
| 8 | Colonial Heights | 10.00 | 18,605 | 3,644 | 462 | 3,182 | 2 |
| 9 | Bristol | 12.50 | 16,775 | 3,463 | 435 | 3,028 | 0 |
| 10 | Newport News | 12.50 | 183,563 | 3,152 | 736 | 2,416 | 22 |
| 11 | Galax | 14.00 | 6,770 | 4,845 | 310 | 4,535 | 0 |
| 12 | Charlottesville | 14.00 | 44,844 | 3,550 | 359 | 3,191 | 1 |
| 13 | South Boston | 15.50 | 7,757 | 2,978 | 464 | 2,514 | 1 |
| 14 | Ashland | 16.00 | 7,903 | 2,695 | 595 | 2,100 | 0 |
| 15 | Franklin | 16.00 | 8,469 | 2,999 | 461 | 2,539 | 1 |
| 16 | Pulaski | 16.00 | 8,818 | 2,892 | 567 | 2,325 | 1 |
| 17 | Richmond | 16.50 | 231,805 | 3,516 | 337 | 3,179 | 56 |
| 18 | Danville | 17.50 | 41,915 | 3,199 | 365 | 2,834 | 9 |
| 19 | Hopewell | 22.00 | 22,843 | 2,421 | 381 | 2,040 | 6 |
| 20 | Hampton | 23.00 | 138,100 | 3,130 | 248 | 2,882 | 15 |
| 21 | Marion | 25.00 | 5,576 | 2,618 | 287 | 2,331 | 0 |
| 22 | Christiansburg | 27.00 | 22,297 | 2,821 | 224 | 2,597 | 0 |
| 23 | Lynchburg | 27.00 | 80,339 | 2,095 | 357 | 1,738 | 9 |
| 24 | Alexandria | 27.00 | 155,153 | 2,859 | 219 | 2,640 | 2 |
| 25 | Chesapeake | 27.00 | 257,248 | 2,084 | 339 | 1,744 | 12 |
| 26 | Fairfax City | 28.00 | 25,672 | 3,432 | 129 | 3,303 | 0 |
| 27 | Manassas | 28.00 | 43,028 | 2,180 | 274 | 1,906 | 1 |
| 28 | Suffolk | 28.00 | 103,506 | 1,942 | 371 | 1,571 | 11 |
| 29 | Winchester | 29.00 | 27,700 | 2,567 | 238 | 2,329 | 0 |
| 30 | Orange | 30.00 | 5,249 | 1,810 | 400 | 1,410 | 0 |
| 31 | Herndon | 31.50 | 25,058 | 2,035 | 239 | 1,796 | 0 |
| 32 | Harrisonburg | 31.50 | 51,270 | 1,960 | 267 | 1,693 | 0 |
| 33 | Richlands | 32.00 | 5,037 | 1,648 | 397 | 1,251 | 0 |
| 34 | Front Royal | 33.00 | 15,524 | 1,868 | 335 | 1,533 | 1 |
| 35 | Martinsville | 33.50 | 13,968 | 1,518 | 387 | 1,131 | 1 |
| 36 | Leesburg | 33.50 | 49,626 | 1,830 | 256 | 1,574 | 0 |
| 37 | Woodstock | 37.00 | 5,983 | 1,989 | 134 | 1,855 | 1 |
| 38 | Vinton | 37.00 | 8,044 | 1,914 | 149 | 1,765 | 1 |
| 39 | Wytheville | 37.50 | 8,138 | 2,789 | 61 | 2,728 | 1 |
| 40 | Waynesboro | 38.00 | 23,673 | 1,762 | 245 | 1,516 | 2 |
| 41 | Bedford | 39.50 | 6,819 | 1,760 | 191 | 1,569 | 0 |
| 42 | Poquoson | 42.50 | 12,788 | 977 | 313 | 665 | 0 |
| 43 | Culpeper | 42.50 | 21,302 | 1,798 | 122 | 1,676 | 1 |
| 44 | Abingdon | 43.50 | 8,310 | 1,697 | 132 | 1,564 | 0 |
| 45 | Williamsburg | 44.00 | 16,098 | 1,404 | 199 | 1,205 | 1 |
| 46 | Covington | 44.50 | 5,522 | 1,467 | 181 | 1,286 | 0 |
| 47 | Staunton | 44.50 | 26,151 | 1,648 | 141 | 1,507 | 2 |
| 48 | Virginia Beach | 45.00 | 455,155 | 1,732 | 92 | 1,640 | 13 |
| 49 | Radford | 45.50 | 17,399 | 1,115 | 213 | 902 | 0 |
| 50 | Big Stone Gap | 46.00 | 5,071 | 1,676 | 118 | 1,558 | 0 |
| 51 | Smithfield | 47.00 | 9,137 | 1,281 | 175 | 1,105 | 0 |
| 52 | Strasburg | 47.50 | 7,312 | 957 | 191 | 766 | 0 |
| 53 | Falls Church | 47.50 | 14,801 | 1,622 | 101 | 1,520 | 0 |
| 54 | Dumfries | 49.50 | 5,985 | 1,236 | 134 | 1,103 | 0 |
| 55 | Warrenton | 50.00 | 10,265 | 1,383 | 97 | 1,286 | 0 |
| 56 | Lexington | 55.00 | 7,656 | 588 | 131 | 457 | 0 |
| 57 | Manassas Park | 56.00 | 16,228 | 844 | 80 | 764 | 0 |
| 58 | Vienna | 56.00 | 16,258 | 910 | 62 | 849 | 0 |
| 59 | Blacksburg | 57.00 | 45,734 | 792 | 77 | 715 | 0 |
| 60 | Purcellville | 60.00 | 8,918 | 718 | 22 | 695 | 0 |
| 61 | Bridgewater | 60.50 | 6,823 | 601 | 29 | 572 | 0 |
| 62 | Buena Vista | 61.00 | 6,598 | 379 | 45 | 333 | 0 |
Source: FBI UCR 2024. 62 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Locking It All Up In Virginia
So what is the most dangerous city in Virginia? After analyzing 62 cities in Virginia, Portsmouth takes the top spot as the most dangerous city in Virginia based on the most recently reported FBI data — 2024.
The latest FBI crime data shows that Portsmouth ranks as the most dangerous city in Virginia for 2026.
The most dangerous cities in Virginia are Portsmouth, Roanoke, Emporia, Farmville, Norfolk, Petersburg, Fredericksburg, Colonial Heights, Bristol, and Newport News.
We want to point out again that there’s still safes places in Portsmouth and that this isn’t a comment on the people that live there. So please don’t beat us up. Not sold on Virginia? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Most Dangerous Places To Live In Virginia FAQs
What is the most dangerous city in Virginia?
Portsmouth is the most dangerous city in Virginia for 2026, based on the most recent FBI crime data. It logs 752 violent crimes and 3,861 property crimes per 100,000 residents.
What are the 10 most dangerous cities in Virginia?
The ten most dangerous cities in Virginia are Portsmouth, Roanoke, Emporia, Farmville, Norfolk, Petersburg, Fredericksburg, Colonial Heights, Bristol, and Newport News. We ranked all 62 cities with more than 5,000 residents on violent and property crime per capita.
Is Virginia a dangerous state?
Virginia is the 36th most dangerous state in the United States by our national ranking. Statewide numbers hide a lot, though; the highest crime rates in Virginia belong to Portsmouth, Roanoke, and Emporia.
What is the safest city in Virginia?
Buena Vista is the safest city in Virginia, posting the lowest crime rate of the 62 places we analyzed. The full most-dangerous-to-safest ordering is in the table above.
How do you decide which Virginia cities are the most dangerous?
We take each city’s violent and property crimes from the latest FBI Uniform Crime Report, divide by population, and rank every place with more than 5,000 residents. The city with the highest combined rate, Portsmouth, comes out most dangerous for 2026.
