Crime Grade · FBI UCR Data · 2025
Charleston, WV Crime Grade
How Charleston grades for violent crime against every other reporting U.S. city — and against the rest of West Virginia — based on the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting data.
National
9/10
vs. all U.S. cities ≥ 25,000 population
West Virginia
8/10
vs. West Virginia cities ≥ 10,000 population
In 2025, the violent crime rate in Charleston, WV was 548.3 per 100,000 residents (252 incidents over a population of 45,958). That puts Charleston Infinity% above the U.S. rate of 0.0 and 69% above the West Virginia statewide rate of 325.3.
That ranks Charleston #3,354 of 3,771 ranked U.S. cities, safer than 11% of them, and #10 of 13 in West Virginia. Violent crime is up 1% year over year and down 23% over the last five years.
Charleston, WV crime — key facts
- National Crime Grade
- F (9/10)
- West Virginia Grade
- D (8/10)
- Violent crime rate
- 548.3 / 100k
- National rank
- #3,354 of 3,771
- WV rank
- #10 of 13
- Safer than
- 11% of U.S. cities
- Year over year
- up 1%
- 5-year change
- down 23%
- Population
- 45,958
- Reporting agency
- Charleston Police Department
- Data year
- 2025 · FBI UCR
Reported by Charleston Police Department (FBI ORI WV0200200) to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Download the full dataset (CSV) · methodology.
About Charleston, WV
Also known as
- Clendenins Fort
- Clendenins Settlement
- Charleston-on-the-Kanawha
- Kanawha
- Fort Lee
- Mouth of Elk
- Charles Town
- Fort Clendennin
Name history sourced from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) — public-domain federal geographic-names data.
Violent crime rate, 5-year trend
Per 100,000 residents. Charleston (red), West Virginia (blue), U.S. average (gray dashed).
Charleston vs. U.S., 2025 — by offense
Rates per 100,000 residents for each offense category.
Full data, last 5 years
Rates per 100,000 residents. Raw counts in parentheses.
| Offense | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 711.8(323) | 682.2(323) | 607.9(282) | 542.7(251) | 548.3(252) |
| Murder | 22.0(10) | 21.1(10) | 12.9(6) | 13.0(6) | 6.5(3) |
| Rape | 74.9(34) | 95.0(45) | 105.6(49) | 58.4(27) | 58.7(27) |
| Robbery | 99.2(45) | 82.4(39) | 73.3(34) | 54.1(25) | 74.0(34) |
| Aggravated assault | 515.7(234) | 483.6(229) | 416.0(193) | 417.3(193) | 409.1(188) |
| Property crime | 3986.5(1,809) | 4468.8(2,116) | 3819.8(1,772) | 3148.0(1,456) | 3498.8(1,608) |
| Burglary | 844.0(383) | 939.8(445) | 786.8(365) | 655.1(303) | 620.1(285) |
| Larceny | 2732.6(1,240) | 3134.1(1,484) | 2690.2(1,248) | 2281.0(1,055) | 2682.9(1,233) |
| Motor vehicle theft | 370.2(168) | 331.6(157) | 299.6(139) | 183.8(85) | 180.6(83) |
How the Crime Grade is calculated
- What is the source of the Charleston, WV Crime Grade?
- FBI Uniform Crime Reporting via the Crime Data Explorer. Agency-level data, pulled directly. No third-party aggregators, no proprietary score.
- What metric does the Charleston Crime Grade use?
- Violent crime rate per 100,000 residents (murder + rape + robbery + aggravated assault), most recent fully-reported year.
- How is the national decile for Charleston calculated?
- Charleston's rate placed against all FBI-reporting U.S. cities with population ≥ 25,000. 1 = safest.
- How is the West Virginia state decile calculated?
- Same calculation restricted to West Virginia cities with population ≥ 10,000.
- How do decile scores convert to a letter grade?
- 1–3 = A · 4–5 = B · 6–7 = C · 8 = D · 9–10 = F.
- How often is the Charleston Crime Grade refreshed?
- Twice a year. The FBI typically releases the prior year's full data each September.
- What are the limits of this Crime Grade?
- The FBI relies on local agency reporting. Rates reflect what was reported, not what occurred.
Nearby cities in West Virginia
Comparable West Virginia cities by population.
Compare Charleston to other places
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