What is the crime rate in Charleston, WV?

In 2025, the Charleston Police Department reported 274 violent crimes and 1,748 property crimes to the FBI.

That is 596 violent and 3,803 property crimes per 100,000 of the 45,958 residents it serves.

Across West Virginia the rates were 265 and 1,085.

Nationally they were 330 and 1,552.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Violent per 100,000: 596
Property per 100,000: 3,803
Violent crimes: 274
Property crimes: 1,748

Crime reported by the Charleston 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	282	608	1,772	3,820	46,390
2024	251	543	1,456	3,148	46,252
2025	274	596	1,748	3,803	45,958

Violent crimes reported went from 282 in 2023 to 274 in 2025.

Property crimes reported went from 1,772 in 2023 to 1,748 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.

Charleston against West Virginia and the nation

Crimes per 100,000 residents, 2025
	Violent crime	Property crime
Charleston	596	3,803
Kanawha County	431	2,472
West Virginia	265	1,085
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 Charleston, 2025

Each place’s own police department; rates per 100,000 residents served
Place	Distance	Violent per 100,000	Property per 100,000
Charleston	—	596	3,803
South Charleston	4.3 mi	446	5,378
Dunbar	5.8 mi	370	2,291
St. Albans	10 mi	118	2,339
Nitro	10 mi	159	3,757
Winfield	18 mi	0	124

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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