The two crime numbers pull in opposite directions. Violent crime sits 12% below the national average and fell 5.8% year over year in 2024, a pattern SafeNest classifies as improving. Property crime runs 63% above the national rate at 3,179 per 100k. A buyer weighing Richmond is weighing theft exposure more than violent crime. Schools carry the same split: 99 rated schools average 4.2/10, high schools reach 4.4, middle schools sit at 2.7, so what a family gets depends on which grades their children are entering. Virginia's 16 federal flood declarations and 18 hurricane or tropical-storm declarations show flooding as a recurring state event, not a parcel verdict. Every figure here is a city-wide average, in a jurisdiction that ranks in the 15th percentile of the 13,216 US jurisdictions SafeNest grades on measured crime. It describes Richmond, never a street or an address.
Crime in Richmond vs. the national average
Richmond reports 337 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, 12% below the U.S. average of 381, and 3,179 property crimes per 100k versus a national 1,954 (63% above). In the most recent FBI reporting year (2024), the violent crime rate fell 5.8% year over year, a pattern SafeNest classifies as improving.
| Richmond | US average | |
|---|---|---|
| Violent crime (per 100k) | 337 | 381 |
| Property crime (per 100k) | 3179 | 1954 |
City-wide averages hide block-by-block variation — the safest and least safe neighborhoods in Richmond can differ dramatically. For a specific address, a SafeNest report covers it directly — or search free in the iPhone app.
Flood & natural hazard risk
Federal disaster records for Virginia — the state SafeNest uses for Richmond's flood context — list 16 FEMA flood disaster declarations between 1957 and 2021, most recently "Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides". Virginia has also seen 18 hurricane or tropical-storm declarations, events that frequently drive flooding. These are state-level federal declarations, not a parcel-level flood-zone determination — a specific Richmond address may sit inside or well outside a FEMA flood zone, which SafeNest does not determine; check FEMA's flood maps and flood-insurance requirements for that address.
Schools in Richmond
Public schools in Richmond average 4.2/10 on the SafeNest School Score across 99 rated schools. By level, high schools rate strongest at 4.4/10 on average, while middle schools average 2.7/10.
Registered offenders
Registered-offender data is meaningful only at the address level, so SafeNest does not publish a city-wide figure for Richmond: a single citywide number would blend blocks with very different profiles and mislead more than it informs. Registered offender counts by distance band for any specific Richmond address are included in a SafeNest report, drawn directly from the state's public registry. The iPhone app shows that count free for any address, and maps each registrant with Premium.
Check a specific Richmond address
City averages are a starting point. A SafeNest report covers one specific address — crime, registered offender counts, flood and disaster history, schools, air quality, taxes — delivered by email as a PDF for $6.99.
Or search any Richmond address free in the iPhone app.
Common questions about safety in Richmond
Is Richmond, VA safe?
Richmond records 337 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, roughly in line with the US national average of 381. Overall SafeNest grade: C, a city-wide average of reported crime. It does not describe a specific street or address.
What is the crime rate in Richmond?
Richmond reports approximately 337 violent crimes and 3179 property crimes per 100,000 residents in 2024, the most recent FBI reporting year in our data.
Does Richmond have flood risk?
SafeNest reports federal disaster declaration history for the area. For Richmond, federal records show 16 FEMA flood disaster declarations for Virginia, most recently in 2021; a specific address may still sit inside or outside a FEMA flood zone, which SafeNest does not determine — check FEMA's flood maps for that address.
How this page was built
Every figure here comes from the same public records behind SafeNest's grading. We published the full method and what it does and doesn't support in We graded 13,216 American cities with FBI data — including where a letter grade means almost nothing. City comparisons: safest cities in Virginia.
Other city safety reports
Data compiled from public sources including FBI crime statistics, FEMA disaster declarations and the FEMA National Risk Index, NCES education data, and state registries. Last updated 2026-08-17. Figures are city-level estimates; verify with primary sources before making decisions. SafeNest is not a consumer reporting agency (see Terms).