What is the crime rate in Amherst, VA?

In 2025, the Amherst Police Department reported 1 violent crimes and 18 property crimes to the FBI.

That is 47 violent and 844 property crimes per 100,000 of the 2,133 residents it serves.

Across Virginia the rates were 211 and 1,395.

Nationally they were 330 and 1,552.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Violent per 100,000: 47
Property per 100,000: 844
Violent crimes: 1
Property crimes: 18

Crime reported by the Amherst Police Department, 2023 to 2025

Offenses known to law enforcement, reported to the FBI; rates per 100,000 residents of the area the department serves
Year	Violent crimes	Violent per 100,000	Property crimes	Property per 100,000	Residents served
2023	3	141	24	1,125	2,134
2024	4	189	19	899	2,114
2025	1	47	18	844	2,133

Violent crimes reported went from 3 in 2023 to 1 in 2025.

Property crimes reported went from 24 in 2023 to 18 in 2025.

In a small town a handful of incidents moves these numbers a long way, so one year’s change says little on its own.

Amherst against Virginia and the nation

Crimes per 100,000 residents, 2025
	Violent crime	Property crime
Amherst	47	844
Amherst County	229	808
Virginia	211	1,395
United States	330	1,552

These are rates per resident; they are not adjusted for visitors, commuters or the size of the area, which raise or lower a town’s figures without changing anybody’s risk.

Crime reported in places near Amherst, 2025

Each place’s own police department; rates per 100,000 residents served
Place	Distance	Violent per 100,000	Property per 100,000
Amherst	—	47	844
Lynchburg	15 mi	361	1,669
Buena Vista	20 mi	106	607
Lexington	26 mi	63	440
Bedford	30 mi	216	1,384
Altavista	34 mi	211	3,161
Waynesboro	35 mi	260	1,545
Hurt	36 mi	0	324

Neighboring departments count the same offenses the same way, but their areas, populations and visitors differ, so a difference between two towns is a starting point for a question, not an answer.

How to read these numbers

These are offenses known to the police and reported to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program: crimes nobody reported, or that a department did not record, are not in them.

Violent crime is murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property crime is burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.

A department reports the crimes in the area it polices, which can differ from the town’s boundaries, and the FBI estimates the population it serves.

The FBI asks that these figures not be used to rank places or to judge how safe a neighborhood is: crime depends on many local factors, and the counts describe a whole town, not any street or home.

A year is shown only when the department reported all twelve months.

FBI: Uniform Crime Reporting statistics and their proper use

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