These Are The Safest Towns In Virginia For 2019: New List

Virginia is a state of contrasts: It has numerous federal agencies and contractors in the northern part of the state spreading out from the District of Columbia, with agriculture, horse-breeding and the fishing industry the economic engine in other parts of the Commonwealth. The household income average is higher than many states, but the violent crime rates is close to the national average, while property crime is markedly below average.

The latest FBI crime statistics, just released for 2017, show that the Washington, D.C., metro had 16,953 violent crimes reported, a category that includes murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The region includes Silver Spring, Frederick and Rockville in Maryland, along with the District of Columbia, Arlington and Alexandria in Virginia.

The household average income at $71,000 in Virginia is about 15 percent higher than the national average. Per capita income at $37,000 is around 12 percent higher.

Despite the high average incomes, the crime statistics for Virginia are below the national average:

• It’s the 17th safest state for property crime (No. 1 means lowest crime)
• The violent crime rate is slightly higher than the US average (ratio 0.86) with 2.98 crimes per 1,000 when measured against the national average of 3.47 - making it the 22nd safest state for violent crime.
• Property crime levels are just over half the national average at 24.28 per 1,000 compared to the national average of 40.43 – giving a ratio of 0.60.

The National Council for Home Safety and Security ranked the safest towns and cities in Virginia based on the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics and population sizes. Towns with populations under 10,000 weren't ranked. NCHSS also computed a "police adequacy" variable which measures the total number of crimes compared to the number of police employees.

The 30 safest towns and cities in Virginia are:

1. Vienna
2. Manassas Park
3. Herndon
4. Blacksburg
5. Williamsburg
6. Fairfax City
7. Falls Church
8. Radford
9. Alexandria
10. Salem
11. Culpeper
12. Manassas
13. Poquoson
14. Charlottesville
15. Hopewell
16. Harrisonburg
17. Bristol
18. Martinsville
19. Staunton
20. Virginia Beach
21. Suffolk
22. Winchester
23. Waynesboro
24. Lynchburg
25. Newport News
26. Chesapeake
27. Petersburg
28. Fredericksburg
29. Hampton
30. Norfolk

>>>Check out the full list here including a breakdown of the type of crimes committed in your hometown.

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. And like Patch on Facebook!)

Image via Shutterstock