CurrentCrimeMap

Data through September 2026, Metropolitan Police Department

Crime in Washington, DC

The violent crime rate in Washington is 777 per 100,000 residents per year over the 12 months to September 2026, 78% above the average of the 302 cities and county areas we cover. That is −2% compared with the previous 12 months.

The west front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Photo: Architect of the Capitol, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The numbers

12 months to Sep 2026

Violent crime

777 per 100,000 residents, per year

5,387 reported in the 12 months to Sep 2026

−2% vs. the previous 12 months

Property crime

2,656 per 100,000 residents, per year

18,421 reported in the 12 months to Sep 2026

−23% vs. the previous 12 months

All reported

3,432 per 100,000 residents, per year

23,808 reported in the 12 months to Sep 2026

Annual rates: reported incidents over the last 12 months per 100,000 residents (population 693,645, U.S. Census).

What counts as violent and property crime

Counted the FBI's way, the same for every city: violent crime is homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property crime is burglary, theft, vehicle theft and arson. Simple assault is not counted as violent. How we count

Where Washington sits among covered places

violent, per 100k, per year

777

Washington has the 42nd-highest rate of the 302 cities and county areas on this site, higher than 260 of the other 301.

Carmel 51avg 437Detroit 1,632

The ring is Washington; the tick is the average of all 302 cities and county areas.

PlaceViolent per 100kRank
Atlanta, GA79637
Philadelphia, PA79538
Newport News, VA79439
Denver, CO79340
Salt Lake City, UT78041
Washington, DC77742
Toledo, OH76443
Akron, OH75544
Rockford, IL75145
Springfield, IL74746
Corpus Christi, TX74547

The places closest to Washington in the ranking, highest rate first. See all 302 cities and county areas

Crime by neighborhood

38 neighborhoods, 12 months to Sep 2026
Loading map…

SaferHigher rateNot rated: park or fewer than 2,500 residentsViolent crimes per 100,000 residents per year, last 12 months. Click an area for details.

Lowest violent crime rates

  1. Hawthorne and Barnaby Woods45−88% vs. city
  2. Cathedral Heights and McLean Gardens57−85% vs. city
  3. Spring Valley and Palisades60−84% vs. city
  4. Cleveland Park and Woodley Park61−84% vs. city
  5. North Cleveland Park and Forest Hills64−83% vs. city

Highest violent crime rates

  1. Woodland/Fort Stanton and Garfield Heights856+131% vs. city
  2. Historic Anacostia815+120% vs. city
  3. Howard University and Le Droit Park735+98% vs. city
  4. Deanwood and Burrville735+98% vs. city
  5. Ivy City and Arboretum729+97% vs. city
All 38 neighborhoods, ranked by violent crime rate

RankNeighborhoodViolent per 100kProperty per 100kResidentsvs. city
1Woodland/Fort Stanton and Garfield Heights8561,5157,591+131%
2Historic Anacostia8152,1665,401+120%
3Howard University and Le Droit Park7355,42316,319+98%
4Deanwood and Burrville7352,45214,561+98%
5Ivy City and Arboretum7294,11018,246+97%
6Douglas and Shipley Terrace7102,27012,818+91%
7River Terrace and Benning7052,06413,617+90%
8Mayfair and Hillbrook6911,9539,116+86%
9Congress Heights and Bellevue6761,86230,770+82%
10Twining and Fairlawn5942,44117,004+60%
11Capitol View and Marshall Heights5471,46818,114+47%
12Sheridan and Barry Farm4991,7428,211+35%
13Downtown and Chinatown4725,69822,235+27%
14Southwest Employment Area and Southwest/Waterfront4622,36616,441+25%
15Union Station and Stanton Park4463,82736,136+20%
16Brookland and Brentwood4334,11813,623+17%
17Columbia Heights and Mt. Pleasant4142,74851,237+12%
18Edgewood and Bloomingdale4072,71227,254+10%
19Brightwood Park and Crestwood3502,36340,620−6%
20Dupont Circle and Connecticut Avenue/K Street3444,37221,521−7%
21Near Southeast and Navy Yard3062,75811,093−17%
22Shaw and Logan Circle2742,62221,202−26%
23Fairfax Village and Naylor Gardens2724,0716,239−27%
24Lamont Riggs and Queens Chapel2562,49216,014−31%
25Takoma and Brightwood2482,94724,160−33%
26Woodridge and Fort Lincoln2322,2969,931−38%
27Kalorama Heights and Adams Morgan2012,43420,379−46%
28Capitol Hill and Lincoln Park1602,34129,434−57%
29Colonial Village and Shepherd Park1334,0274,495−64%
30West End and Foggy Bottom1221,30718,896−67%
31Friendship Heights and American University Park1172,29312,820−68%
32North Michigan Park and Michigan Park1061,63212,319−72%
33Georgetown and Burleith/Hillandale933,92416,055−75%
34North Cleveland Park and Forest Hills641,45812,551−83%
35Cleveland Park and Woodley Park612,59514,720−84%
36Spring Valley and Palisades6066116,633−84%
37Cathedral Heights and McLean Gardens571,39221,054−85%
38Hawthorne and Barnaby Woods451,69915,424−88%

The District’s 46 neighborhood clusters, named here by their first two neighborhoods. Population from the 2020 Census blocks inside each cluster, scaled to the city’s current total. Parks, the National Mall and places with fewer than 2,500 residents are drawn but not rated. Small areas swing more from month to month, so rates use the last 12 months.

All 38 neighborhoods side by side, with property crime and the change from a year earlier: Washington, D.C. neighborhoods by reported crime rate.

Reported crime by type

12 months to Sep 2026
OffenseReportedPer 100kvs. previous monthvs. a year earlier
HomicideViolent9013—−38%
About these categories

The FBI publishes city totals by family, not a full breakdown by offence, so homicide is the only type Metropolitan Police Department reports separately here. Red means more than before, green means fewer. “Not yet” means the site does not have that month from a year earlier.

Month by month

Oct 2025 to Sep 2026

Violent crime −2%

0200400600OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSep508412
Violent crimes per month in Washington, DC, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026 and a year earlier
MonthViolent crimesMonth a year earlierViolent crimes
Oct 2025442Oct 2024571
Nov 2025439Nov 2024498
Dec 2025314Dec 2024444
Jan 2026341Jan 2025445
Feb 2026379Feb 2025361
Mar 2026441Mar 2025443
Apr 2026472Apr 2025423
May 2026523May 2025558
Jun 2026492Jun 2025480
Jul 2026549Jul 2025478
Aug 2026487Aug 2025405
Sep 2026508Sep 2025412

Homicides −38%

0102030OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSep34
Homicides per month in Washington, DC, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026 and a year earlier
MonthHomicidesMonth a year earlierHomicides
Oct 20257Oct 202425
Nov 20256Nov 202412
Dec 20256Dec 202412
Jan 20262Jan 20259
Feb 20267Feb 202514
Mar 20262Mar 20258
Apr 202615Apr 202512
May 20268May 202519
Jun 20268Jun 202511
Jul 202617Jul 202512
Aug 20269Aug 20257
Sep 20263Sep 20254

71 in 2026 through September, 96 in the same months of 2025. Compare with other places

Every month since Oct 2023
Reported crime per month in Washington, DC
MonthViolentPropertyHomicides
Sep 20265081,7413
Aug 20264871,9559
Jul 20265491,79917
Jun 20264921,5768
May 20265231,7118
Apr 20264721,39315
Mar 20264411,3542
Feb 20263791,1397
Jan 20263411,2382
Dec 20253141,4736
Nov 20254391,5206
Oct 20254421,5227
Sep 20254121,6544
Aug 20254051,8337
Jul 20254782,08312
Jun 20254802,02411
May 20255582,04119
Apr 20254231,95912
Mar 20254431,9068
Feb 20253611,72014
Jan 20254451,7559
Dec 20244442,19612
Nov 20244982,40912
Oct 20245712,40125
Sep 20245622,48114
Aug 20245622,21015
Jul 20246102,27817
Jun 20246932,08516
May 20246472,12516
Apr 20245411,81417
Mar 20244701,80111
Feb 20244521,76014
Jan 20245281,94412
Dec 20234802,08024
Nov 20236272,28220
Oct 20236892,52419

When crime happens in Washington

12 months to Sep 2026

In the last 12 months, half of the violent crime reported in Washington happened between 4 pm and 1 am. Friday and Saturday had the most.

Violent crime busiest hour 7 pm

00.5×1.5×2×2.5×avg6a9a12p3p6p9p12a3a

Property crime busiest hour noon

00.5×1.5×2×avg6a9a12p3p6p9p12a3a

Each line is an average day of that kind, as a multiple of the average hour of the week (dashed line), smoothed over three hours. Days run from 6 am to 6 am, so a Friday night stays on Friday. Times are when the incident happened, as recorded by Metropolitan Police Department; 1% of incidents have no usable time (many unknown times are recorded as midnight or noon) and are left out.

See the numbers by hour
Violent crime in Washington by hour, last 12 months
HourFriday and SaturdaySunday to ThursdayAll days
6 am103444
7 am72532
8 am134356
9 am154055
10 am154459
11 am234164
12 pm185573
1 pm306393
2 pm236689
3 pm36102138
4 pm51114165
5 pm30105135
6 pm5094144
7 pm48130178
8 pm60110170
9 pm59111170
10 pm64107171
11 pm5278130
12 am6182143
1 am7275147
2 am4659105
3 am563591
4 am323163
5 am242751
Total with a known time8951,6712,566
Property crime in Washington by hour, last 12 months
HourFriday and SaturdaySunday to ThursdayAll days
6 am92252344
7 am153381534
8 am214557771
9 am244626870
10 am2787401,018
11 am3238041,127
12 pm3539141,267
1 pm3147641,078
2 pm3518371,188
3 pm3518471,198
4 pm3268741,200
5 pm3148321,146
6 pm3237961,119
7 pm233688921
8 pm240662902
9 pm207516723
10 pm195423618
11 pm193358551
12 am181321502
1 am146212358
2 am117187304
3 am130177307
4 am87144231
5 am67162229
Total with a known time5,43213,07418,506

How Washington compares

per 100k, per year

Similar size

#PlaceViolentPropertyResidentsData to
1Detroit, MI1,6323,712642,155Aug 2026
34Nashville, TN8283,377718,499Aug 2026
40Denver, CO7933,938733,212Sep 2026
42Washington, DC7772,656693,645Sep 2026
57Portland, OR6885,062631,483Aug 2026
59Oklahoma City, OK6722,598720,580Jul 2026
73Louisville, KY6123,250691,630Jul 2026
81Boston, MA5751,867671,262Aug 2026
191El Paso, TX2701,178682,310Aug 2026
225Prince George's County, MD (County Police)2201,741741,477Jun 2026

The 10 places closest to Washington in population, Washington included, highest violent crime rate first.

Same state

#PlaceViolentPropertyResidentsData to
42Washington, DC7772,656693,645Sep 2026

Washington is the only place in District of Columbia on this site so far.

Nearby

#PlaceViolentPropertyResidentsData to
6Baltimore, MD1,3024,037562,811Jul 2026
42Washington, DC7772,656693,645Sep 2026
195Anne Arundel County, MD (County Police)2551,572562,033Jul 2026
225Prince George's County, MD (County Police)2201,741741,477Jun 2026
235Gaithersburg, MD1921,01170,993Jun 2026
252Montgomery County, MD (County Police)1481,476924,573Jun 2026
258Rockville, MD1401,20068,690Jun 2026
265Alexandria, VA1281,496159,534Aug 2026
268Calvert County, MD (Sheriff)12742995,115Jul 2026
276Howard County, MD (County Police)1131,318340,315Jul 2026

The 9 places on this site closest to Washington by distance, highest violent crime rate first.

#PlaceViolentPropertyResidentsData to

Figures are what each agency reports to the FBI, over the last 12 months it has reported in full, so the months differ. See all 302 cities and county areas in the rankings

Compare Washington side by side with Baltimore, Louisville or El Paso, or with any other place.

Common questions

answered with the data above
Is Washington safe?

By reported violent crime, Washington is well above the average of the 302 cities and county areas on this site: 777 violent crimes per 100,000 residents per year over the 12 months to September 2026, −2% versus the previous 12 months. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood: Hawthorne and Barnaby Woods runs 45 per 100,000 and Woodland/Fort Stanton and Garfield Heights 856.

What is the crime rate in Washington?

777 violent and 2,656 property crimes per 100,000 residents per year, based on 23,808 incidents reported to Metropolitan Police Department over the 12 months to September 2026.

Is crime in Washington going up or down?

It is roughly flat: violent crime −2% and property crime −23% over the last 12 months compared with the 12 months before.

How many homicides has Washington had in 2026?

Metropolitan Police Department reported 71 homicides from January to September 2026, the latest month it has reported in full, against 96 in the same months of 2025. Over the 12 months to Sep 2026 the count was 90, or 13 per 100,000 residents.

Where does the data come from?

From Metropolitan Police Department, via Open Data DC (dataset MPD FeatureServer). We count reported incidents by month and offense type and divide by the Census population. Reported crime undercounts actual crime; see the methodology page for what the numbers leave out.

Moving to or visiting Washington

12 months to September 2026

From Metropolitan Police Department’s own incident data for 12 months to Sep 2026, which counts more than what it reports to the FBI.

What most people ask aboutReportedPer 100kvs. the 12 months before
RobberyTaking property by force or threat1,266183−19%
BurglaryEntering a home or business to steal765110−7%
Theft from vehiclesItems or parts taken from a vehicle, break-ins included4,106592−34%
Vehicle theft2,471356−48%

What these numbers leave out: most crime never reaches the police. In the federal victim survey (BJS, 2024), about half of violent crimes and less than a third of property crimes were reported, and only a quarter of everyday thefts. Rates are per resident, which overstates them where far more people work than live: Downtown and Chinatown, Southwest Employment Area and Southwest/Waterfront, Dupont Circle and Connecticut Avenue/K Street and West End and Foggy Bottom in Washington.

The official source is Metropolitan Police Department data on Open Data DC. For what to look for, and what not to read into a rate, see how to read US crime numbers.

Source and dates

MPD FeatureServer
Source
Metropolitan Police Department, via Open Data DC (dataset MPD FeatureServer)
Latest complete month
September 2026
History on this site
October 2023 to September 2026 (45 months)
Update schedule
Published daily by the Metropolitan Police Department on Open Data DC. It lists the nine most serious offense types only, so assaults here are assaults with a dangerous weapon. We refresh every morning.
Download
Monthly counts by offense (JSON)