Virginia’s Safest Cities of 2026

See crime rates for the safest cities.

According to our most recent State of Safety report, people in Virginia are most concerned about violent crime and gun violence. But in Virginia's safest cities, violent crime rates were more likely to have gone down year over year compared to property crime rates. Overall, more than half of our survey participants say they feel safe in the state. 

The violent crime rate in Virginia is 3.26 incidents per 1,000 people, which is lower than the national average of 4.43. We weren't able to report a statewide violent crime rate last year due to insufficient data, but in our 2024 report, Virginia reported a lower violent crime rate of 2.8.

Property crime in The Old Dominion State also increased in recent years, rising from 17.5 incidents per 1,000 people in 2024 to 23.76 incidents in this year's report. That's higher than the national property crime rate of 22.89. 

Virginians who took our State of Safety survey report a higher confidence level than the year before. About 59% say they feel safe in the state, up from 47%. Another sign of optimism in the state is that more Virginians (20%) believe crime is decreasing. In fact, they're among those most likely to believe crime is going down.

According to our latest State of Safety survey, property crime and package theft experiences fell across Virginia, and so did residents' concerns. Property crime is slightly more concerning for Virginians even though they're more likely to experience package theft.

• 18% said they experienced property crime in the 12 months prior to the survey, down from 26% the year before (US 21%).
• Concern about property crime fell from 56% to 44% year over year (US 46%).
• 27% of Virginians experienced package theft in the 12 months prior to our survey, down from 34% the year before (US 31%).
• Concern about package theft fell from 55% to 41% (US 44%).
• Virginia residents prefer to protect their property with security cameras (42%) and security systems (28%). 

Virginians saw a slight decline in their violent crime experiences year-over-year. The percentage of people who worry about violent crime on a daily basis also fell. 

• 12% said they personally experienced violent crime in the 12 months prior to the survey, down from 14% the year before (US 12%). 
• Concern about violent crime fell from 63% to 54% year over year (US 55%).
• 30% of Virginians say they use personal protection.
• Virginia residents prefer to protect themselves with pocket knives (47%), pepper spray (43%), and firearms (37%).

• 7% of Virginians said they experienced gun violence in the 12 months prior to our survey, a dramatic decrease from 15% the year before (US 9%).
• Concern about gun violence fell slightly from 63% to 61% year over year (US 55%). 
• 10 mass shooting events took place in Virginia in 2025, down from 13 in 2024.

For the purposes of this report, the terms “dangerous” and “safest” refer explicitly to crime rates as calculated from FBI crime data—no other characterization of any community is implied or intended.

• 63 cities met criteria for ranking this year.
• Buena Vista is this year's safest city in Virginia. 
• For the second year in a row, Virginia's safest cities were more likely to see a drop in violent crime than in property crime. 
• Buena Vista's violent crime rate declined for the third year in a row, while Dumfries and Purcellville celebrated a decrease in violent crime for the second year in a row. 
• Blacksburg, Vienna, Manassas Park, and Strasburg saw year-over-year decreases in violent crime.
• Property crime declined year-over-year in Lexington, Manassas Park, and Strasburg.
• No murders were reported in Virginia's safest cities.
• Buena Vista, Purcellville, and Warrenton reported zero rapes.
• 50% of Virginia's safest cities reported zero robberies.
• No burglaries were reported in Buena Vista and Purcellville. 

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