Portsmouth, VA Crime Statistics For 2025

Demographics | Crime | Cost Of Living
Updated: 2025-10-24

Crime Rate In Portsmouth, VA Summary

Crime in Portsmouth research summary. HomeSnacks has been using Saturday Night Science to report crime data in Portsmouth over the past eight years using the FBI Crime Explorer. Based on the most recently available data released on October 17, 2023, we found the following about crime in Portsmouth:

  • There were 4,482 total crimes committed in Portsmouth in the last reporting year.
  • On a rate basis, there were 4,613.2 total crimes per 100K people in Portsmouth.
  • The overall crime rate in Portsmouth is 117.68% above the national average.
  • Portsmouth ranks #128 safest out of 133 cities in Virginia.
  • Portsmouth ranks #9,490 safest out of 9,896 cities in the United States.

Because the crime rate is so low in America, we use "per 100,000 people" to make the number a bit easier to compare across locations visually. It's mathematically the same as per capita comparisons and isn't meant to convey that 100,000+ people live in a location.

Additional research about crime in Virginia

Portsmouth Vs Virginia And National Crime Rates

According to the most recent data from the FBI, the total crime rate in Portsmouth is 4,613.2 per 100,000 people. That's 117.68% higher than the national rate of 2,119.2 per 100,000 people and 158.07% higher than the Virginia total crime rate of 1,787.6 per 100,000 people.

Statistic Count
Raw
Portsmouth
/ 100k People
Virginia
/ 100k People
National
/ 100k People
Total Crimes Per 100K 4,482 4,613.2 1,787.6 2,119.2
Murder 36 37.1 4.8 5.0
Robbery 163 167.8 33.1 61.0
Aggravated Assault 497 511.5 152.2 256.0
Violent Crime 731 752.4 217.9 359.0
Burglary 412 424.1 108.7 229.0
Larceny 2,837 2,920.0 1,315.9 1,272.0
Car Theft 502 516.7 145.1 259.0
Property Crime 3,751 3,860.8 1,569.7 1,760.0

Portsmouth Crime Compared To Virginia Averages

Each category of crime indexed to the worst per capita in Virginia.
Data Source -- FBI UCR 2024.

Violent Crime Rates In Portsmouth

731
Violent Crimes
752.4
Violent Crimes / 100k People
109.58%
Above The National Average
  • There were 731 violent crimes in Portsmouth in the last reporting year.
  • The violent crime rate in Portsmouth is 752.4 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 132.9 chance of being the victim of a violent crime in Portsmouth each year. That compares to a 1 in 458.9 chance statewide.
  • That's 109.58% higher than the national rate of 359.0 per 100,000 people.
  • And 245.29% higher than the Virginia violent crime rate of 217.9 per 100,000 people.

Property Crime Rates In Portsmouth

3,751
Property Crimes
3,860.8
Property Crimes / 100k People
119.36%
Above The National Average
  • There were 3,751 property crimes in Portsmouth in the last reporting year.
  • The property crime rate in Portsmouth is 3,860.8 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 25.9 chance of being the victim of a property crime in Portsmouth each year. That compares to a 1 in 0.0 chance nationally.
  • That's 119.36% higher than the national rate of 1,760.0 per 100,000 people.
  • And 145.96% higher than the Virginia property crime rate of 1,569.7 per 100,000 people.

Crime In Cities Around Portsmouth

City Population Count
Raw
Total Crime
/ 100k People
Property Crime
/ 100k People
Violent Crime
/ 100k People
Virginia Beach, VA 455,155 7,884 1,732.2 1,639.9 92.3
Chesapeake, VA 257,248 5,360 2,083.6 1,744.2 339.4
Norfolk, VA 230,460 9,776 4,242.0 3,772.5 469.5
Newport News, VA 183,563 5,786 3,152.1 2,416.1 736.0
Hampton, VA 138,100 4,322 3,129.6 2,882.0 247.6
Suffolk, VA 103,506 2,010 1,941.9 1,570.9 371.0
Poquoson, VA 12,788 125 977.5 664.7 312.8
Smithfield, VA 9,137 117 1,280.5 1,105.4 175.1

Portsmouth SnackAbility

5
/10
Overall SnackAbility
Jobs
6/10
Housing
8
Affordability
5
Diversity
9
Safety
3
Amenities
9
Education
7
Commute
8
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